


The Dare

by Kingpin



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Gay, Gay Sex, Homophobic Language, M/M, Remixed, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-11 01:22:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 18
Words: 34,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4415648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kingpin/pseuds/Kingpin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At first it'd seemed alright, a friendship with Dagur and Steffan... But the moment the dare had been proposed, Jack Overland's would find that his world, and the world of Hamish "Fishbone" Haddock would end up being flipped upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Dare](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1124933) by [Sahreah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sahreah/pseuds/Sahreah). 



> I would like to thank Sahreah for granting me permission to expand her original story. I tried to retain as much of her original story, whilst expanding on other areas.
> 
> The names of Hiccup and most other characters from How To Train Your Dragon have been modified with more contemporary equivalents.

 

> **_This... is Berk.  Its fifty minutes along Route 1 from Providence and a stone's throw from Block Island Sound.  It's located solidly on the coastline of the state of Rhode Island._  
>  **  
>  _**It's been here since a wandering band of Danes and Norwegians decided to settle here in the 1700s, and because of that, everything seems to have a Nordic theme.**_  
>  _**We have fishing, skating and a charming view of the sunsets.**_  
>  _**The only problems are the town bullies.**_  
>  _**While other places have meat-head football jocks or leather-clad gang members, we have Dagur Faustino... a walking nightmare otherwise known as "Dagur the Deranged".**_  
>    
>  \- **Excerpt from the blog of Hamish Haddock**.

**  
**  
The alarm clock buzzed angrily at his bedside as the pleasantries of sleep slipped from his mind.  Oh how he wished he could've left _that_ packed up with half the possessions in his room.  
Jackson Overland turned over in his bed and flung an arm out wildly, managing to silence the impatient device on his third try before easing back into the comfortable silence that would let him fall back to sleep.  
  
"Jack! Breakfast!" a loud declaration, filtered through a Russian accent floated up the stairs, causing the teenager to grumble. Resigned to his fate, Jack finally swung his legs groggily out of bed.

The linoleum of the kitchen floor was cool to the touch as Jack padded into the room in bare feet.  Wearing only a pair of boxer shorts and a crumpled, faded band T-shirt he approached the breakfast nook that was nestled beneath the window at the back of the room.  
Sat at the table was the owner of the accent, and the man who was the teenager's legal guardian; Nicholas Severnaya.  The Russian was a bear of a man with a pair of ice-blue eyes and a smile that often betrayed his amusement.  Above the blue orbs were a set of dark, bushy eyebrows, which contrasted with the stark white of his hair and beard. He looked up from his breakfast as his ward gathered a bowl and a box of cereal from the counter.  
  
"Ah!  He rises at last!"  
  
"Mrn'n." Jack yawned, sitting down in the seat opposite.  
  
"Ready for first day?"  
  
Jack mustered enough energy to give the older man a sceptical look.  "As much as I'll ever be." he shrugged, before tucking into his breakfast.  He'd feel a bit more energised once he'd had something to eat.  
  
"That is spirit!" Nick smiled warmly.  "I know first day can be intimidating, but it's also chance to forge new friendships." Jack tried to give his companion a reassuring smile but he suspected it was probably closer to being insincere. Starting at a new school part-way through the year was intimidating.  "As it is my first day today as well, I will probably be late home tonight." Severnaya noted.  "You okay with taking school bus home?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine." the teenager responded after another helping from his bowl.  
  
"At least I can drop you off on way into work." the older man added.  "Oh, and don't forget your key!"  
  
Jack was able to muster a stronger smile this time.  Nick's worry could get a bit embarrassing, but the teenager was glad he had somebody who was looking out for him. "I won't."  
  
With his breakfast quickly consumed, Jack made his way back up the stairs to his room where he started digging through his closet to find something to wear. Jeans and sneakers were obvious, but what to wear over his fresh change of T-shirt?  
In his right hand he held a blue hoodie, and in his left hand he held a black denim jacket.  After a moment's consideration he threw the jacket back into his closet and slipped into the blue garment. As he grabbed his bag he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror on the back of the door.  
Staring back at him was a seventeen year old with a rakish, but athletic frame.  Atop a sculpted face that often held a playful smirk was an untidy mess of chestnut hair. Beneath a matching set of eyebrows were two warm, brown eyes.  
  
Standing to his full height, Jack gave his doppelgänger a quick reassuring nod and exhaled. A moment later he'd exited his room and was joining Nicholas by the front door.

* * *

 

Nick's red 1995 Ford sedan slid to a stop behind the school bus idling in front of the town High School. The building was located less than ten minutes from Jack's front door and he was now able to get his first good look at the place.  
  
Spanning two stories, the main structure of the building wrapped round into what appeared to be a large, hollow square, with a number of single-story structures spouting off at various points.  A large, dense block was stood toward the back of the structure, bordering with what appeared to be a fairly basic-looking football field.  
  
Constructed from red brick with stone detailing, the once-sharp edges of the architecture had become softened and stained by a few decades of weather rolling in from Block Island Sound, making it less intimidating than it once had been.  
  
Milling outside of the school by the main entrance was the familiar assortment of teenagers and cliques that Jack remembered from the crowd he'd left behind in Pennsylvania.  
  
With a smile and an encouraging nod from Nick, the chestnut-haired teenager climbed out of the car and shut the door behind him.  With a quick wave, the Russian pulled the car away from the school and disappeared down the street.  
  
As he approached the school, Jack did his best to ignore the inquisitive stares and dissecting looks he felt he was getting. He tugged his backpack closer and walked towards the main entrance, thankful for the excuse of needing to talk to one of the staff about his enrolment.

* * *

 

Thanks to Nicholas having put in the paperwork the previous week, Jack had gone quickly through the process of registration and by the start of lunch he'd sat through two periods of Math and one of Geography.  If asked, he probably would've said his day had been going okay, up until the moment where he'd accidentally knocked a boy off his feet whilst trying to find the Cafeteria. The other teenager was heavy-set, with a round face and dirty blond hair.  
  
"Whoa! Sorry!" Jack gaped.  He then held out a hand to the fallen boy who, after a moment's hesitation, accepted it.  "I'm really sorry about that, I didn't see you there!"  
  
"It's okay." the boy replied nervously, dusting himself off after he'd risen to his feet.  
  
"You sure?  That looked like it hurt."  
  
"I'm okay.  I've had worse." he glanced around quickly for a moment before he picked up his bag.  "Um, thanks." the blond boy then quickly departed, leaving Jack to look back in a state of confusion.

* * *

 

The nervous reaction of the other teenager had remained with Jack for the rest of the day, which fortunately had passed without any further incident. By the time the final bell rang to signal the end of classes, he was looking forward to getting back outside and into some fresh air. Navigating his way through the swarm of students and teachers eager to make their way home, Jack exhaled a breath in relief as he pushed through the swinging metal door at the main entrance to the building. He was starting to feel that wearing his hoodie in late June had not been quite as good an idea as it'd initially appeared.  
  
"Hey. New kid." he instinctively turned towards the voice, which belonged to one of two boys who were sat atop a brick planter near the entrance. The one who'd spoken was athletically-built, with an oval-shaped face that sported a pointed nose and a thin, wide mouth. A pair of wide, green eyes were set beneath a head of long reddish hair that was tied in a ponytail.  
The other boy was shorter but looked burlier in build. He had a roundish face, a smaller mouth, a stubby nose and a pair of bored blue eyes. Completing his appearance was a wild head of chestnut-coloured hair.  
  
"Yeah?" Jack asked hesitantly.  
  
"How're you finding it so far?"  
  
"Um... fine, I guess."  
  
"Cool." the red-headed boy nodded. "My friend Stefan and I figure that since you're new, you've not seen what Berk has to offer... am I right?"  
  
"Yeah." the taller teenager nodded. "I was unloading stuff most of the weekend, so I didn't get a chance to have a look around." he cast a brief glance towards the school bus, which appeared ready to depart.

The red-haired boy pushed himself off of the planter and casually approached Jack, a moment later the other boy followed.  
  
"As it happens we've both got the afternoon free, so if you were interested we could show you around, give you the dollar tour."  
  
In the distance, the bus's horn honked twice before it finally pulled away. Having missed his ride home, his decision appeared to be made.  
  
"Sure... count me in."  
  
"Great!" the wide-eyed boy draped an arm across Jack's shoulders. "Name's Dagur. Dagur Faustino."  
  
"Jack Overland." he responded nervously as they walked away from the school, feeling more than a little uncomfortable at Dagur's invasion of his personal space.

 

 

 


	2. A Class Apart

Jack felt all the eyes in the room turn to him as he pushed open the classroom door.  From his desk, Mr. Pitchiner, an Englishman in his late 40s with black hair, a thin nose and hazel eyes looked up at the new arrival with a raised eyebrow and a clear expression of annoyance on his face.  
  
"Good of you to finally join us, Mr. Overland." the _English_ English teacher greeted coolly.  "We were just discussing Shakespeare's _Romeo & Juliet_." he turned his attention back to the rest of the class. "For Mr. Overland's benefit, could somebody give him a brief description of the story?"  
  
"It's a love story." a voice piped up from the back of the class.  
  
"That's one answer... although it's wrong."  Pitchiner responded. "Anyone else?" a few seconds of awkward silence followed, punctuated by a frustrated sigh from their teacher served as the only response. "Mr. Haddock?  I know you can give us a better answer than what we've just had."  
  
"Uh." a freckled boy in a green T-shirt near the front suddenly shrank self-consciously into his chair.  "It's a tragedy... about the danger of acting on impulse... and without all the facts."  
  
"Excellent answer, Mr. Haddock." the English teacher returned his gaze to Jack.  "You can sit down now, Mr. Overland."  
The brown-eyed young man trudged over to his regular desk, situated towards the back of the classroom.  
  
As Jack took his seat he noticed that Dagur was in the process of balling up a sheet of paper.  As soon as the red-haired teenager was happy with his handiwork; he launched it towards the wearer of the green T-shirt.  
The projectile bounced off of the boy's shoulder, causing him to flinch.  Although his body language had tensed up, he didn't turn around to give his tormentor the satisfaction of a proper reaction.  
  
"Good one, Dag." Stefan Jorgenson smirked.  
  
Jack continued to watch for several more minutes as the redheaded boy continued to torment his victim: Hamish "Fishbone" Haddock.  
At one point during the previous two-and-a-bit months since Jack had moved to Berk, Dagur had explained that he was eager to see what would happen once Haddock finally lost it and retaliated.  
Although he'd never admitted it out loud, Overland had felt on more than a few occasions that Dagur seemed obsessed with the Fishbone.  
  
Hamish was actually two years younger than Jack, but because he'd proven himself to be considerably bright, and a hard worker, he'd been advanced a year into the 11th Grade.  He was a clear three inches shorter compared to the taller teenager, and his T-shirt failed to hide his extremely lanky build.  A mop of auburn hair, almost long enough to get into his eyes sat atop a heart-shaped face that was dusted with the aforementioned freckles, and a pair of intelligent emerald eyes.  
  
As the lesson wound on, Jack felt his eyelids starting to droop.  Between the subject matter and the warm sunlight pouring through the window blinds, he was finding himself becoming more and more drowsy.  He'd almost drifted off completely when the bell for recess rang, and the classroom was turned into a surge of children eager to escape.  
  
"Your assignment for next week is to read through chapter fifteen and sixteen, and to write me an essay summarising the significance of the events in those chapters."  Pitchiner instructed from the front of the classroom.  "And Mr. Overland, please try to arrive on time for a change."  
  
As Jack, Dagur and Stefan neared the front of the class, the red-haired boy stuck out his leg and caught Hamish's, causing the auburn-haired teenager to stumble forward and quickly grab his desk for support.  He glared up at Dagur from behind disturbed strands reddish-brown hair, but remained silent.  
  
"You got a problem, Fishbone?"  
  
"Nothing." the angered boy responded.  
  
"That's right." Dagur smirked, grabbing his victim's arm and roughly pulling him to his feet.  
  
"Let it go, we're wasting recess." Jack interjected.  Dagur smirked and let go of Hamish's arm, and the auburn-headed teenager quickly made his exit from the classroom.  
  
"Such a dork." Stefan sneered as they made their way out into the hallway.  
  

* * *

 

"I still can't believe I'm even related to him! How does somebody related to my family end up as such a wimp!" Stefan remarked incredulously as they reached their usual spot behind the gym block.  Jack had learned from Stefan, mostly involuntarily, that the Haddocks and the Jorgensons were related through marriage.  Hiccup and Stefan were technically cousins, and both of their fathers worked together at Berk's Police Station.  
Despite knowing this information, the white-haired teenager didn't feel he had the energy or the time to successfully explain to his companion that being related by marriage wasn't the same as being related by genetics.  
  
At that moment, Dagur's eyes suddenly lit up in realisation, something the chestnut-haired teenager had said had made an impact with him and he exclaimed loudly: "That's _it_!"  
  
"What's _what_?" Jack asked, unnerved by the look in the redhead's eyes. He'd once heard a rumour that whilst bored one day during summer break, Dagur had attempted to drown a kitten. The reason that he hadn't succeeded was that his Dad had apparently caught him in the act, and had managed to rescue the poor creature.  
A fresh feeling of discomfort washed over the tallest of the three teenagers as he noticed a glint in the red-haired bully's eyes.  Jack wondered if Dagur had had that same look when he'd been poised over the sink with the cat in the bag.  
  
"I know what your initiation dare's going to be!"  
  
"My 'initiation'?" Jack echoed.  "I've been one of you guys for over two months!"  
  
"And the dare makes it official." Faustino smiled.  "We all had to do it, didn't we Stefan?"  
  
"Yep. I had to fly Fishlegs' underwear up the school flagpole." he remarked with a boastful smile.  
  
"And I was going to drown this cat I found... I would've finished it off too if my Pop hadn't caught me." Jack felt his throat going a little dry, he was not enjoying where this was going.  "And I've got the perfect dare for you."  
  
"Alright." Jack groaned.  "Lay it on me."  
  
Dagur chuckled with more than a little bit of enthusiasm.  "I dare you, Jack Overland, to sleep with the Fishbone.  We all know he's a virgin, it should be easy."  
  
"Whoa, whoa! Wait!" Jack protested, wide-eyed.  "I'm not gay."  
  
"You don't have to be, it should be easy for you.  You'd be stronger than him."  
  
"Also, how do we know he'll respond at all if I did try anything on him?"  
  
"He came out of the closet last year." Stefan interjected disinterestedly.  "I always knew there was something funny with him."  
  
"He's not going to go for it, he knows I hang out with you guys."  
  
"It's all pretty simple Jack, get him to sleep with you, and you're officially one of us.  If you don't, then I guess you're not worth it." Dagur shrugged.  
  
Jack knew as soon as he'd heard the redhead's idea that he didn't want to have any part of it, but at the same time he also knew what happened to those who angered him, and he would reluctantly acknowledge that more often than not these days, Dagur Faustino, more commonly referred to as "Dagur the deranged" in whispers behind his back, scared him.  
  
Between a rock and a nutcase, Jack finally gave his answer: "Fine."


	3. Trial by Fire

Jack had felt only marginally better once he'd gotten home.  He already regretted agreeing to Dagur's dare.  If it had been something smaller, like tripping Hamish up, or giving the auburn-haired boy a swirly, he believed he could do that... But to sleep with him?  
  
He paused as he spied his reflection in the mirror of his closet door.  In the past two-plus months his appearance had gone through a subtle shift.  On the suggestion of Dagur and Stefan, he'd started bleaching his hair white, and wearing the denim jacket (although he'd modified it to remove the sleeves).  At first he'd liked the suggestions and the fact that he'd made two friends at school so quickly... But once he'd seen what they were like, he'd felt less glad.  He even wondered if he stayed in contact with them out of obligation, or intimidation.  
  
He turned his attention away from the mirror and to the task he'd been set, if he was going to successfully seduce Hamish Haddock, he'd need to study him.

* * *

  
Jack didn't need to steal the freckled boy's schedule to know they had several of the same classes together.  Through the week they would share Math, English, Biology and Art, and he could see whether he could grab one of the desks closer to his designated target.  
  
He'd also been using his free time during recess and lunch to try get more information on Hamish, who was now stood at his locker as the last of the other children went to eat.  He took a deep breath as he prepared himself.  
  
_You can do this Jack_. he stepped away from his hiding spot at a corner of the hallway, and approached the auburn-haired boy.  "Hey."  
  
The shorter teenager flinched and turned around, his face written in worry.  He cast a hesitant glance to his left and right, before he focussed his whole attention on the white-haired boy.  The worry on his face shifted to surprise, and then a curiosity that was underscored with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Um... Hey." Hamish greeted in return.  "Is... there something you want?"  
  
"Well..." Jack flashed him his best smile.  "I was wondering if you were doing anything this weekend? Because I think we should hang out... or something."  
  
The taller teenager had become aware, mostly due to Dagur's campaign of intimidation, of Hamish's existence a short while after he'd started attending Berk's High School.  Until now it'd always been from a distance, but stood in front of the auburn-haired teenager Jack could get a sense of the clever and quick-thinking brain the Fishbone appeared to have.  He was also able to clearly see the dusting of freckles that ran across the younger boy's cheeks and nose... which almost looked like they'd been put there by the sweep of a paintbrush.  
  
"Did Dagur put you up to this?"  
  
_Shit. Did he know?_   "No." Jack responded, a little more forcefully than he intended.  "It's just that, I wanted to know if you were free and wanted to do some stuff."  
  
"Well, I like doing stuff as much as the next guy." he returned, his voice dripping in sarcasm as he shut his locker.  "As tempting as your offer is, thanks... but no thanks."  
  
Without uttering another word, Hamish walked away, leaving Jack fuming a little in the hallway.  His irritation only lasted a moment before a playful grin spread across his face, this was going to be tricky... but it was definitely going to be interesting.

* * *

  
Jack had awoken Wednesday morning with his purposed renewed.  The direct approach hadn't worked with Hamish, so the next move was to dial it back a notch and try something a bit more subtle.  As Jack entered the classroom for his shared Biology lesson with the shorter teen he dropped a folded sheet of paper discreetly onto Hamish’s desk as the freckled boy was sitting down.  As Jack took a seat diagonally one row behind the auburn-haired teenager, he watched as the younger boy unfolded the paper and read what he'd written: 

> **Do you want to hang out later?**

Hamish's answer came back quicker than Jack had expected, and in the neatest handwriting he'd ever seen.  The white-haired teenager inwardly groaned when he saw the freckled boy's reply: 

> **No thanks.**

* * *

  
The relieving atmosphere of home seeped back into Jack's body as he pushed his way through his front door.  At least there he didn't have to worry about Dagur, Fishbone or the stupid dare.  
  
"Is that you, Jack?" Nick's voice called from upstairs.  
  
"Yeah, it's me!" the teenager called back, dropping his backpack beside the coat stand.  From upstairs his guardian appeared, dressed sombrely in a black suit and tie.  A flash of realisation shot though Jack's mind, the last time he'd seen Severnaya wearing it had been...  
"It's the 3 rd!" he slapped his forehead in rebuke. "I'm sorry Nick, it crept up on me."  
  
"Is alright." Nicholas offered a sad smile.  "You've had a lot on mind. I've got the flowers in the kitchen; I wait for you to change."

* * *

  
Jack idly held two small bouquets of white Roses and two of white Lilies as Nicholas drove the red sedan towards Raven Point Park, from there they could get a good vantage point of Block Island Sound and the ocean beyond. They remained silent as they drove; reflecting in their own ways on the events of one year prior, back in the Keystone State.  
  
It wasn't long at all before Nick steered the car into a public parking lot near the park, and the two climbed out.  
  
"This looks good." he nodded as he surveyed the area, before turning to Jack for approval.  
  
"Yeah." the teenager agreed. "This feels right."  
  
The two of them approached the shoreline and the expanse of the water before them. They stood there for several more minutes of silence before the older man finally spoke.  
  
"Emily... Little Olivia... these are for you." he set one of the bouquets of Roses floating in the water, followed by a bunch of Lilies. As he took a step back, Jack stepped forward.  
  
"Mom... Sis..." he blinked, trying to stop the tears that were now threatening to run down his cheeks. "I... huh-" his voice caught in his throat, and he coughed to clear it. "I know I've not done a very good job of late thinking about you... Now that Nick and I are settled here... I'm going to try harder. I miss you both... I wish you were here with us."  
  
In the same fashion as Nick, Jack laid the bouquets he'd been holding in the water and he took a step back. Side by side, the two of them watched as the current carried the flowers away. He'd just wiped his hand over his reddened eyes when he felt one of Severnaya's on his shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.  
  
"I believe... maybe they are." he mused with a sad smile. The two of them remained standing there as they watched the flowers vanish from sight, the tributes paid to the ones they'd lost.


	4. Out of the rain

Hamish Haddock emitted a low moan of annoyance when he pushed open the door to leave the High School.  Although he’d been happy with his essay on _Romeo & Juliet_ he'd finished for Mr. Pitchiner, he'd now left himself vulnerable to the rain storm that had swept into town, and was now pouring heavily from above.  He cursed the fact he didn't have an umbrella with him, and because the school bus had left and he didn't drive, he'd have to walk home in the rain.  The sole consolation was that his bag was waterproof, and his work wouldn't get ruined.  
  
The torrent was cold, but just about bearable as he stepped out from the shelter of the entrance to the school, and he set off for home.

Ten minutes after he'd left the school, and another ten from home, Hamish's T-shirt and shirt were plastered to his skin.  
  
_Maybe I'll catch a cold on top of everything._ he mused bitterly.  _As if I didn't have enough to worry about._  
  
As if the gods had been listening to his thoughts, a car slowed behind him and the driver honked the horn.  At first the freckled teenager ignored the vehicle, but the driver was becoming quite persistent.  
  
"Hamish?"  
  
"What?!" the soaked teenager spun on the spot, irate.  It took him a moment to realise that the driver was actually Jack, and his expression softened a little.  
  
"Why are you out here walking in the rain?" the white-haired boy asked with what could have been genuine concern.  "You need a ride?"  
  
"No thanks, I'm good." the auburn-haired boy returned with a dismissive wave and a sodden smile.  
  
"You're soaked!" Jack objected.  "Get in the car, it's warm and dry."  
  
"My place is less than ten minutes away." Hamish gestured somewhere further down the street.  "I'm good."  
  
Jack considered the other teenager's response for a moment before he unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed out of the sedan.  "You'll be better off in the car, now don't make me push you in."  
  
"Are you familiar with the concept of kidnapping?" Hamish asked incredulously.  
  
"Are you familiar with pneumonia?" he levelled his gaze at the shorter boy.  
  
"For the love of-" the shorter teen threw up his hands in frustration.  "Fine!" he walked over to the front passenger seat as Jack climbed back inside.  
  
"Good." the white-haired teenager nodded as he buckled up again.  "Now, why were you out in this?"  
  
"I was walking home." Hamish responded, despite the shivers that ran through his body.  
  
"I know that, but why are you heading home so late, school finished an hour ago." Jack asked as he turned up the car's heater.  "I think I have a sweatshirt somewhere in the back if you'd like the extra warmth."  
  
"I'll be home soon, I'll be fine."  
  
"Okay." Jack responded, unconvinced.  He drew the car to a halt at the next intersection.  "Should I go left, or straight on?"  
  
"Left."  
  
"Gotcha." Jack nodded, and drove straight on past the turning.  
  
Hamish was aghast.  "I said left!"  
  
"I know what you said, and I promise I will take you home.  I just have an idea about something that might help warm you up a bit."  
  
_Fantastic choice, Hamish. What could possibly go wrong when you're in a car with one of Dagur's friends?_

* * *

  
The auburn-haired boy was more than a little surprised when the taller teenager pulled the car into the parking lot of a local café that Hamish instantly recognised.  
  
"Look... Jack.  I really appreciate you giving me a lift and getting me out of the rain... but I really need to be getting home."  
  
"Just one drink?  I'm buying!"  
  
The auburn-haired boy groaned, was there any use in arguing?  As he unbuckled his belt the white-haired teenager threw something he'd grabbed from the back seat into Hamish's lap. He studied the blue hoodie for a moment before he did his best to discreetly remove his T-shirt and shirt.  Leaving the sodden garments with his bag in the car, he joined Jack as they walked to the entrance of Hofferson's Café.  
  
A bell chimed above the door as the two teenagers entered.  As it was late afternoon the café's trade had dwindled to only a few customers who had closed their own businesses for the day, and had popped in for a quick drink or bite on their journeys home.  
  
The main space of the café was furnished with tables adorned with clean white cloths, and crisp menus.  The windows lining the front and some of the side of the establishment were trimmed with live plants to make the view a bit more pleasant.  The windowless wall running the length of the establishment was adorned with framed photographs of Berk's history and fishing community.  
  
A girl, no older than Hamish, with blond hair pulled into a ponytail was stood behind the counter, upon seeing the two boys enter she suddenly broke into a smile.  
  
"Hamish!" she greeted pleasantly.  
  
"Hey Astrid." Hiccup returned her smile.  
  
"Who’s your friend?"  
  
"Um… Jack, meet Astrid Hofferson.  Astrid, Jack Overland."  
  
She nodded at Jack before getting down to business.  "What are you two having?" she enquired, giving the brown-eyed teenager an appraising look.  
  
"I'm having an iced coffee, and a hot chocolate for Hamish." the taller teenager smiled.  
  
"One iced coffee, one hot chocolate... coming up." she nodded as she rang the orders up on the register.  "Feel free to grab a seat."  
  
As they waited for their orders to be made, Jack led the two of them over to one of the tables beside the windows at the side of the café.  
  
"You never did tell me why you were heading home so late." the taller boy enquired.  
  
_This again?_ Hamish rolled his eyes. "I was working on my English essay."  
  
"The essay... which is due…"  
  
"Monday?" the green-eyed teen reminded.  
  
"Right!" Jack grinned.  "Still plenty of time." looking at Hamish now, the white-haired boy realised that the blue hoodie was slightly too big for him, and between the hoodie, freckles and sodden hair, he actually looked a little cute.  
  
Jack had to shake that thought from his head.  He might have been given a dare to sleep with Hamish, but it didn't mean he was gay... even though he would have to see the other teenager naked in order to...  
  
"Berk to Jack, you there?"  
  
The white-haired boy realised he'd zoned out on his companion, and he returned his attention to the teenager sat across from him.  
  
"Sorry... I... I just couldn't help noticing how... handsome you were."  
  
"I'm handsome, even though I'm a rain-drenched mess?" Hamish raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Sure..." Jack responded.  Before he could proceed any further, Astrid approached their table, carrying their drinks on a tray.  
  
"Here's your iced coffee, and your hot chocolate." she set the beverages down and slid the tray under one arm.  "You guys need anything else?"  
  
"Hamish?" the taller teen enquired.  
  
"No, I think we're good." the freckled boy gave the blond girl a half-smile.  
  
"Okay, give me a shout if you need anything." she gave him a playful punch on the arm before she returned to her post at the counter.  
  
"She's nice." Jack observed.  
  
"I've known Astrid since I was little, we tell each other everything."  
  
"Everything?" the taller boy cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"When... When I first realised I was gay, she was the first person I told.  She even helped me come out to my Dad."  
  
"She sounds like a good friend."  
  
"She is." Hamish nodded; he then emitted a little chuckle.  "My parents and hers used to speculate that we'd probably become boyfriend and girlfriend once we started High School."  
  
Jack let out a pleasant laugh.  
  
"If you don't mind me asking... When did you realise you had an attraction to guys?"  
  
The question had caught Jack off-guard. "Erm... What makes you think I'm into guys?"  
  
"You have a lousy poker face." Hamish smirked.  "Well, just now you said I was 'handsome'... Whilst you could've said I was 'good looking'.  Okay, that in itself isn't really proof that you're attracted to people of the same sex... But you've been _really_ keen on trying to spend time with me all of a sudden..."  
  
Jack sat there in stunned silence for a moment. "Wow... um..." he paused to take a deep breath and to gather his thoughts, Hamish was even sharper than he already gave him credit for. "I think I first realised it when I was a few years younger, back before I moved here."  
  
"Ah." the freckled boy nodded in understanding.  
  
"But I didn't really act on my attraction until I started noticing you." he paused, considering his next move. "I've kinda wanted to ask you if you might be interested in... in going on a date with me?"  
  
Hamish's green eyes widened in surprise.  
  
"You really want to go on a date with me?"  
  
"No, with the other guy sat right in front of me."

The freckled boy's eyes narrowed and he set the cup down on the table.  
  
"Very funny." he pushed the chair he was sitting in back, and stood up from the table.  "You can let Dagur know he'll have to try harder if he thinks he can somehow use my sexuality as a new way to humiliate me.  I'm not ashamed of who I am." he proceeded to walk towards the door of the café.  
  
"Hamish, wait! Dagur has nothing to do with this!" he pleaded as he mentally cringed at the blatant lie.  The auburn-haired boy made no indication as to whether he'd heard Jack or not, as he didn't turn to look back as he walked away from the building.  
  
From behind him, the white-haired teenager heard a cough and he turned to see Astrid looking at him.  The pleasant smile had been replaced with an expression of displeasure.  
  
"I try not to listen in on the private conversations here, but it was a bit hard to not hear that last bit."  
  
"It was a misunderstanding!" Jack protested.  
  
"I hope it was." Astrid responded.  "Because for your sake, you'd better not be planning to hurt him." she nodded as she cracked her knuckles for added emphasis.

* * *

 _  
Damn it! Why'd you have to go and blow it!  Things were starting to work out with you and Hamish.  Why do you have to make a mess of everything?_ he fumed at himself as he drove home.  He'd have to do a lot of work to get himself back to where he'd gotten with the freckled teenager, and the brown-eyed boy knew he wasn't going to enjoy it.

* * *

 

Friday afternoon would see Jack and Hamish in Art class together, but he wouldn't have to wait very long at all before he saw the auburn-haired teenager again.  As soon as Overland approached the front entrance of the school he found a familiar blue hoodie bundled into his hands, followed by Haddock's forgotten backpack being snatched from his grasp.  
  
"Wait! Hamish!" he ran forward and tried to grab the freckled boy's wrist as gently as possible.  "I'm sorry about yesterday; I'm serious about wanting to go on a date with you."  
  
The shorter teenager said nothing, all he did was give Jack an unimpressed look before he turned and walked away.  The time they spent in class together proved to be as fruitless, as soon as the white-haired boy sat down beside him, Hamish switched tables so that he was sitting as far away from him as possible.

Jack had decided to change strategy as soon as he realised that Hamish was responding to him in the same way that the auburn-haired boy responded to Dagur's teasing: making as little a reaction as possible.  
  
Following his first day at the school, Jack had learned that the heavy-set blond boy he'd bumped into was one of Hamish's small social circle, and he figured that maybe Fishlegs could be the key to solving Overland's problem.

* * *

  
Fiske Ingerman had been less than willing to act as errand boy for Jack Overland, but the worry of what Jack's friends might do to him if he'd refused was more than enough motivation. The tall, white-haired boy had asked him to deliver an envelope to Hamish Haddock, and he was going to do that, and then get out of the hallway as quickly as possible.  
  
"Err... H-hey Hamish." the freckled teen looked up from his locker and gave Fiske a warm smile.  
  
"Hey!" he nodded in greeting.  "Haven't seen you in a while."  
  
"Heh, you can thank _Dragons & Berserkers_, a new game I’ve discovered for that. It’s been taking up a lot of my free time." the blond-haired boy explained.  
  
"I'll have to pop over to your place sometime and give it a look. I’ve still need to give you back your copy of _Helheim’s Gate_." Hamish replied as he slid a few books into his backpack.  
  
"By the way, I have something for you." Fiske pulled the envelope out and handed it to the auburn-haired teenager who studied it with curiosity.  Extracting a simple folded piece of card from inside, he flipped it open to read what was written within:

> **It's a beautiful day**   
>  **As I see you from afar**   
>  **This makes me gay**   
>  **It may seem bizarre**   
>  **I can't find the words**   
>  **For what you mean to me**   
>  **I seem to like nerds**   
>  **Will you go out with me?**

 "Oh Gods." Hamish grumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose.  
  
"What is it?" Fiske asked, and the freckled boy gladly passed the card back.  
  
"Wait... Jack's attracted to you?" he raised a quizzical eyebrow.  
  
"More like stalking me." Hamish remarked grimly as he closed his locker.  "If you see him, tell him I said 'No'."

* * *

   
Fiske hadn't had to walk far before he found Jack; he'd been hidden around the corner of the hallway.  
  
"I'm sorry, he said-"  
  
"I heard." Jack glumly took the card back from the blond boy. "Look... thanks for doing this. You don't have to worry, Dagur and Stefan won't be looking for you."  
  
"They might not be looking for me, but I think they're looking for you." Fiske observed grimly as he pointed towards the doors leading to the school yard. Jack turned and he saw that the two objects of their discussion were approaching, and it was that moment that Fiske chose to make a discreet exit.  
  
"So, how's it going?" Dagur asked, smiling that smile that made Jack's skin crawl.  
  
"Good! Good... it's going good."  
  
"And how's it going with deflowering Fishbone?"  
  
"Should be happening any day now." the white-haired boy assured them.  
  
"Great." the red-haired bully nodded. "Because I don't want to have to kick you out of our little group, do I, Stefan?"  
  
"Nope." the brown-haired boy responded in a rare moment where he didn't appear to be bored by what was going on around him.  
  
"Have a great weekend." Dagur clapped a hand on Jack's shoulder as he and Stefan walked away towards the doors at the front of the school.  
  
_Shit._ this situation was going from bad to worse.


	5. Sticks & stones

The weekend spelt more lost time for Jack to try convince Hamish to go out with him, as he didn't know the boy's out of school habits, nor did he have any real idea where he lived.  The only place he figured he might find him was back at the café, but that wasn't a guarantee, and he was certain Astrid probably wouldn't help him after the scene she'd witnessed.  
  
As the weekend had wound on, part of him had wondered if maybe not bumping into each other could work to his advantage...  Hamish might've cooled off by Monday, and might be more inclined to give Jack the time of day again.  
  
Monday had started with double History and a single period of Shop, and once lunch was over he would have Hamish for double English, giving him the chance to try talk to him then.  
The white-haired teen had been walking past the gym block on the way to the cafeteria when he'd heard the sounds of scuffling and muffled voices in the boys' locker room.  
The sounds made him stop in his tracks, before he crept up to the door and pushed it ajar. Inside the room were Dagur, Stefan and a boy that Jack couldn't identify as he was currently being sat on by the redhead.  
  
The chestnut-haired boy turned upon the feeling of air move on the back of his neck, and he nodded silently as Jack entered.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"Nice of you to join us!" Dagur greeted.  
  
_There's that smile again_. a shiver ran down Overland's spine.  As he got closer to the bully he froze as he noticed that the boy he was sat on, who was still dressed in his Phys Ed kit, had several nasty looking cuts on his legs and arms.  _Shit... Is Dagur now using physical violence?_  
  
As Jack peered closer, a new realisation chilled him.  The injured, confined boy was Hamish.  
  
Jack quickly approached Dagur and squared up to him.  "Get off of him." there was an edge of anger in his voice he hadn't expected.  
  
"Okay, easy! He's all yours." the redhead clambered off of Hamish and the boy scurried back towards the lockers with a look of fear in his green eyes.  Seeing that look made something snap inside of Jack.  
  
"Get the fuck out of here!" he bellowed.  
  
"C'mon Dag, let's go." Stefan suggested.  
  
"Fine, have fun with the little _faggot_ , Jack."  
  
The white-haired boy didn't take his eyes off of the two bullies until the door had swung closed behind them.  As soon as he was sure they were gone, he turned his attention back to the injured boy in front of him.  
  
"Can you walk?" Hamish glared silently at the older teenager who still managed to tower over him even when crouched on one knee.  Jack let out a sigh.  "I'm not here to hurt you." he held out a hand and after a moment, Hamish tentatively grasped it.  With the white-haired boy's help, they made their way over to the locker room sinks where they were able to get the freckled boy cleaned up and put some paper towels to the cuts he'd received.  
Hamish flinched at first as Jack saw to the cuts on his legs, but by the time the older teen had finished his companion was now mostly still, the only sounds were the drip of the taps and the slight sniffle the injured boy would emit every now and then.  "You can cry if you want to, I won't think any less of you."  
  
"I'm not a wimp."  
  
Jack levelled a stern gaze at him.  "Hey, I'd probably be crying if I'd gotten hurt by him like that.  And I did actually cry last week."  
  
Hamish gave him a quizzical look.  "Why were you crying last week?"  
  
Jack paused, the anecdote had led to an outcome he should’ve expected but really wasn't prepared to go into detail on.  "It's... Complicated and personal... And not something I want to talk about now." he sighed and rubbed his brow.  "Sorry... I'm also sorry for what they did to you... You didn't do anything to deserve how they treated you."  
  
"I'm sorry as well, I shouldn't be getting angry at you when you didn't do anything."  
  
"But that's the thing." he paused as he screwed up the last of the bloodied paper towels.  "You're right, I didn't do anything.  They're my friends and I should've done more.  I'm sorry."  
  
A thoughtful expression appeared on Hamish's face.  "I'm sorry about how I reacted the other day.  I'd always seen you with Dagur and Snotlout-"  
  
"'Snotlout'?" Jack's face was written with confusion.  
  
"Stefan." the freckled teenager smirked.  "I used to call him that when we were younger, even back then he didn't like being around me."  
  
"Remind me not to get on your bad list."  
  
"Anyway... I'd always seen you with them, and... Maybe I let their actions influence my impression of you.  I’ve just realised now that you never seemed to be around when they were dishing out their worst on anyone."  
  
Jack remained in silence, unsure what to say in response.  
  
"I had time to cool off and think about what we talked about in the café, and I think that had there not been that little hiccup between us where I walked out, I might've seen that there was more to you than I originally thought." he paused before continuing, considering his next words carefully.  "I need to thank you for getting rid of Dagur the Deranged and Snotlout... so... if maybe you were still interested... I think we could hang out."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"No, I'm asking the other guy in front of me." Hamish returned with a wry grin.  
  
Jack chuckled. "Fair enough.  I'd like that... Mr. Hiccup." the snow-haired boy then stood from his crouch and hovered in front of Hamish for a moment, before planting a quick kiss on the freckled boy's cheek. S eeing the flush of crimson spread across the teenager's face was more rewarding than Overland would've admitted.


	6. 'Hanging out'

Hamish had absolutely no idea what to wear.  He didn't want to ask Jack what was appropriate, Fiske wouldn't be of much help, and as it was Wednesday night, Astrid would be unreachable by phone as she was at soccer practice.  The only person in the room with him that he could ask was Toothless, and all the black cat did was regard him with his indifferent green eyes.  
  
He had less than an hour before Jack would be at his front door, and the freckled teenager was still stood in the middle of his room clad only in his boxer shorts and his slowly drying hair.  Finally forced to make a decision, he opted for an olive green button-up shirt and a dark brown waistcoat.  As he dressed, he considered on whether to leave the waistcoat open or not, and whether to roll up his shirt sleeves.  By the time he returned to the bathroom to finish drying his hair, he'd settled on leaving the waistcoat open, and his shirt sleeves rolled up.

* * *

  
With only fifteen minutes before Jack was due to arrive; Hamish was quickly becoming a bundle of nerves.  
  
_What if I screw up? I always screw up! What if Dagur and Snotlout suddenly show up?_  
  
"I know that look." a gruff, Scottish-accented voice suddenly cut through the freckled boy's introspection.  He turned to see a towering man with a neat red beard, a familiar set of green eyes and a strong muscular build stood by the living room door.  As he often was, Stoick Haddock was dressed in the uniform that identified him as Chief of Police, although at the moment his tie hung loose around his neck.  "Try not to get too worked up."  
  
Hamish nodded after a moment.  "I know, it's just I've never done this before."  
  
Stoick knelt down in front of his son and placed a comforting hand on each of the boy's shoulders.  "You should've seen me the first time I worked up the courage to speak to your mother.  I was a mess." he smirked.  
  
"You?  Nervous?" the younger Haddock shook his head disbelievingly as he returned with a lopsided grin.  "That doesn't seem possible."  
  
"It's true." the elder Haddock replied.  "Don't worry about doing anything wrong, just try to enjoy the evening and have fun."  
  
"Thanks, Dad."  
  
"Besides, if he doesn't appreciate all this-" Stoick removed his hands and swept them from the top of Hamish's head to his shoes.  
  
"You've just gestured to all of me!"  
  
"If this boy doesn't appreciate you for who you are, then just say the word and I can let him spend the night in the cells."  
  
"I'm pretty sure that would be an abuse of power." the freckled boy interjected.  "Seriously though... Thanks for the pep talk, Dad."  
  
"Any time, Son." Stoick nodded.  The doorbell rang only a moment after he'd stood fully up.  "And that's my cue.  I'll see you at some point after my shift at the station is over."  
  
"Yeah." Hamish nodded.  
  
"And remember, try to have fun!" Stoick's voice echoed from the kitchen, where he planned to make a discreet departure as to not spook Hamish's date.  
  
The younger Haddock took a deep breath before opening the door.  Stood outside on the porch was Jack, and Hamish had to admit that the older teenager looked good all dressed up.  The taller boy was clad in a dark blue V-neck jumper and a pair of black jeans, which contrasted strongly with his shock of white hair.  
  
"Hi." Jack greeted simply, and Hamish returned with a similarly monosyllabic response.  
  
"I... Um... Just let me lock up." after a quick few moments the freckled teenager was out on the porch with the brown-eyed boy, sliding his keys into his trouser pocket along with his phone.  
  
"Ready to go?" Jack asked.  
  
Hamish nodded. "Lead the way."  
  
"If you insist." Overland grinned as he grasped Hamish's hand and led him towards the familiar sedan that was parked at the curb in front of the Haddock house.  Upon reaching the vehicle Jack stepped forward and opened the door for his date, beckoning him to climb in.  
  
"If I don't say it at some point later, you're a goofball." the freckled teen teased.  
  
"I try." Jack smirked, before closing the front-passenger door.  Sliding into the seat beside Hamish, he turned the key in the ignition.  
  
"So... what's the plan?"  
  
"Dinner, and then entertainment."

* * *

  
Berk was not world renowned for entertainment, but over the years the town had amassed a few local places of varying quality where the locals could pass the time.  One of the businesses that proved popular with the young adult population was a burger joint known as "Barry Cuda's".  Although the pun in the name had largely gone ignored by the teenage crowd, they'd taken to the restaurant's menu and events with enthusiasm.  
  
Having parked around the side of the restaurant, near its outdoor dining area, Hamish and Jack strolled along the sidewalk towards the stairs and wheelchair ramp that would bring them to the main entrance.  
  
The building was roughly L-shaped, and clad in vertically arranged boards that spanned the height of the single story structure. The vertical cladding was painted in a vanilla ice cream colour, with contrast from the window and door frames, and building trim that had been painted white and the roof which was brown tile.  The side of the building facing the street was dominated by a large blue canopy that offered protection for those who wished to dine outside, but who wanted some cover from the rain or wind.  
 Beneath the awning, two large triple-width windows dominated the front face of the restaurant, offering good views of the interior and looking out towards the harbour.  Several empty spots across the front of the façade had been adorned with appropriate themed items, such as life rings, surfing signs and beach notices.  
  
The burger joint was ablaze with light, ranging from the warm welcoming glow that emanated from within, to the festive illumination of the coloured party/Christmas lights that were strung along the awning and twisted around the pair of fake palm trees in the outside dining area.  As Jack and Hamish approached the glass double doors of the entrance, they paused by a sign bearing the logo of the restaurant: a surfing fish which was impossibly holding an ice cream and a burger.  
  
As the two teenagers entered they looked around, the interior had been decorated to resemble the stereotypical idea of what a beach bar might look like, complete with camp themed items.  Despite the kitsch mood of the furnishings, several of tables were occupied with chatting teenagers and the odd family who appeared to be grabbing a bite for dinner.  Towards the far end of the dining area, by a large picture window that looked out onto the outdoor dining area was a wooden dance floor, with a DJ booth and an impressive lighting array... Complete with a disco ball, suspended above it.  
  
The two of them managed to find an unoccupied table and sat down, taking their time to study the menus.  
  
"You've lived here longer than me, is there anything you'd recommend?"  
  
The freckled boy offered Jack a smirk.  "Well... It's not an exotic choice, but the cheese burgers aren't bad, especially with a side order of curly fries."  
  
"And they come with a barbecue dip." the snowy-haired boy nodded.  
  
"Um... Hey guys... Welcome to Barry Cuda's... Are you ready to order?" a heavy-set waiter wearing a polo shirt emblazoned with the restaurant name greeted.  
  
"Fiske?" Hamish asked, recognising their server instantly.  
  
"Hey." he waved nervously.  
  
"How long've you been working here?"  
  
"About a week now."  
  
"Congratulations." Jack nodded.  
  
"Yeah." the auburn-haired teenager agreed.  
  
"Um... Thanks guys." the blond boy fidgeted with his notepad. "So you guys are finally going out?"  
  
"Uh... Yeah." Hamish nodded, glancing around self-consciously for a moment.  Most of the other teenagers there were ones he recognised from school, fortunately Dagur and Stefan weren't present.  
  
"Oooh!  Is there anything I can recommend?  There's this great stuffed crab special that we serve..."  
  
"We'd already chosen actually." the freckled boy intervened.  "But thanks for the suggestion."  
  
"No problem." Fiske readied his pad.  
  
"Two cheeseburgers, a sharing platter of curly fries with barbecue dip..." Jack turned to Hamish. "Drink?"  
  
"Fanta, please."  
  
"And I'll have a Pepsi."  
  
"Sure! Two burgers, curly fries platter with barbecue, one Pepsi and one Fanta, I'll bring it out once it's ready."  
  
"Thanks." Jack smiled as the blond boy vanished towards the order window.

* * *

  
The burgers and fries had been as satisfying as Hamish had remembered, and as the two teens finished off the last of the curly fries, the lights on the dance floor began to flash as a voice from the music system drew their attention.  
  
_"Good evening everyone, it's Wednesday Night, which means it's time for Barry Cuda's eighties and nineties classics, get up on the dance floor and strut your stuff!"_  
  
"I'm afraid this place is just as cheesy as I remembered." Hamish offered an apologetic look.  
  
"It could be worse." Jack shrugged.  With a final swig of his drink, he stood from his chair and held out a hand to his freckled companion. "Dance?"  
  
"I'm a terrible dancer." the auburn-haired boy replied, despite the fact he had taken the older teenager's offered hand.  
  
"I think we'll be alright." Jack nodded towards the crowd of teenagers on the dance floor; more than a few of them seemed wild and uncontrolled.  
  
Hamish shook his head in dismay and let himself be pulled out under the flashing lights by the taller boy holding into his hand.  As more time passed, something about the crowd, the music, the lights or the company let the emerald-eyed boy relax a little as he danced with the white-haired boy next to him.

* * *

  
Wearing a jumper and a waistcoat respectively, Hamish and Jack had eventually taken a break from the dance floor to grab some more drinks and head out onto the outdoor dining area for some fresh air.  
  
"That's better!" Jack remarked happily as the cool air blowing in from Block Island Sound swept over his skin, prompting an amused laugh from his dance partner.  
  
"Just as well, I don't think I could've danced for much longer."  
  
"You did okay in there.  Don't let anyone tell you different." the older boy smirked.  After a moment, a more serious look appeared on his face.  "Are you enjoying yourself?"  
  
"I am." Hamish nodded.  "Thanks for taking me out."  
  
"Thanks for accepting."  
  
They remained there in a comfortable silence for several more minutes, enjoying the night air and watching the dancers and the array of coloured light that flashed beyond the window glass of the restaurant.

* * *

  
Jack eased the car to a stop in front of Hamish's house, and killed the engine.  He was reluctant to take his date home with it only reaching half past nine, but he knew that his companion wouldn't want to stay out too late with school in the morning.  
  
"So... I'll probably see you at school at some point tomorrow."  
  
"Yeah." Hamish nodded, conscious of the tension in the air between them.  
  
"Cool." Overland nodded.  "Cool." he idly looked around for a moment before he finally made his move.  "If you're not doing anything Friday... Do you fancy hanging out again?"  
  
Hamish took a moment to consider, before he smiled.  "Sure." the auburn-haired boy then climbed out of the car and closed the passenger door.  "Thanks for the evening Jack, I had a lot of fun."  
  
"No problem." Jack watched as Hamish walked up to his front door, and disappeared into the house.  Out of sight, the taller boy let out an exhale of breath and, winding up the passenger window and restarting the engine, and drove away.


	7. Like a day at the beach

Although things had looked bleak after their conversation at the café, Jack was relieved to see that he'd managed to pull things out of the fire with Hamish the previous night, and despite the reasons for why he was pursuing the Haddock boy... He had to admit he'd had fun with his freckled date at the restaurant.  
  
Finding Hamish had proven more of a trial than expected, as he hadn't caught sight of the auburn-haired teenager at all during recess.  Jack hoped that the younger teenager hadn't had yet another run in with Dagur, and it was to his relief when he found him in the cafeteria chatting with the girl from the café.  A part of him wondered if Hamish had told her about the previous night.  
  
"...I then managed to tackle the ball away from Sophie, and passed it on to Rebecca who got us the goal we needed to take us into the lead."  
  
"You don't sound happy though." the green-eyed boy observed.  
  
"Well... I think maybe if I'd been more focussed, we could've stopped the other side from getting that late equaliser."  
  
"I'd rather see you relax a little, one of the perks of being Captain of the Soccer team is being able to let the team help you as much as you help them."  
  
"It's good advice." Jack remarked as he took the seat beside Hamish and opposite Astrid.  
  
"Hey." the freckled boy beamed as the blond girl gave the brown-eyed boy a polite smile.  Overland noted that she was still scrutinising him.  
  
"Hey, yourself." Jack offered a lopsided smile, and then gave a nod towards the Soccer player. "Captain Hofferson."  
  
"You're looking chipper." she observed.  
  
"You can thank Hiccup here." he indicated Hamish with a playful nod.  Astrid cast a quizzical look to the auburn-haired boy with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"'Hiccup'?"

"A term of affection." Hamish emitted a sheepish chuckle.  "We hung out at Barry's last night."  
  
"You guys hung out." she cast a glance back towards the taller boy.  
  
"Some would call it a date." Hamish admitted.  "Speaking of 'hanging out'... I've got an idea of something we can do together, if you hadn't organised something already."  
  
"I hadn't had anything planned yet." Jack smiled, enjoying the forest-eyed boy's burst of enthusiasm.  "Where and what time do you want to meet?"  
  
"How about after school?  And make sure to bring some beach wear with you."  
  
"Fun times... I like the sound of it.  I'll bring a Frisbee." the taller teenager smiled, he then turned to look at Astrid.  "Fancy coming along? Assuming you don't have practice?"  
  
Astrid glanced at Hamish, before looking back their companion. "Sure, sounds great."

* * *

  
The sensation of walking on air had carried Jack out of the cafeteria and into the hallway; it had to mean he was making good progress if Hamish had suggested what in essence could amount to a second date.  He hoped that by inviting the still-sceptical Astrid, he'd be able to allay her suspicions... Even though he silently acknowledged that she had every right to be cautious of him.  
  
The admission to himself took a bit of the wind out of his sails, and what remained was annihilated the instant he chanced across Dagur and Stefan in the hall on the way to his locker.  
  
"Hey Jack, it's been a while... How's it hanging?" the redhead enquired, one hand placed firmly against the wall over Jack's left shoulder.  
  
"It's going good... Fishbone's trusting me... I think I'll have sealed the deal by Monday."  
  
A thoughtful look, a look that suddenly occurred to Jack looked alien on Dagur's face, appeared for a few moments before he briefly nodded.  
  
"Monday it is." he then gave Jack that predatory smile.  "Don't disappoint me."  
  
"Yeah." Stefan added, pointlessly, before the two bullies walked away.  Overland let out a sigh, wishing he'd never met Dagur Faustino.

* * *

  
For the first time Hamish could recall, he was actually grateful that Toothless woke him up early, as it gave him a bit of extra time to go through his swim/beach clothes in preparation for after school, eventually settling on a pair of green swimming shorts with white splotches, a plain white T-shirt and a light blue short-sleeved shirt that he could wear if it got cold.  He'd quickly dumped the change of clothes into his bag along with his books, before he'd proceeded down to breakfast with the black cat in tow.  
  
"Morning, Son." Stoick greeted, a mug of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed that the freckled boy appeared more animated than usual at that hour. "You're lively this morning." he chuckled.  
  
"I'm going to be hanging out with Astrid and Jack at the beach after school... If that's okay with you?"  
  
The Chief of Police gave his son an approving nod.  "You don't need my permission for that.  Just make sure you have your keys with you."  
  
"I will." Hamish smiled.  He then gave the cat a quick goodbye scratch under the chin before heading for the door  
  
"Have fun! I'm working the early shift so I'll see you when you get back."

* * *

  
With the majority of the low-lying coastline in Berk occupied by harbour, the best place for the townsfolk to enjoy a day at the beach was either at Raven Point Park, or at Black Heart Bay, which lay five minutes east of the town along the old School House Road.  
  
Jack, Hamish and Astrid stepped out of the sedan and looked up at the large State Beach Pavilion that stood at one end of a large, but relatively deserted car park.  
Built around 2012, the pavilion consisted of a large raised concrete platform, with two distinct buildings sat on top.  The building to their left was rectangular, with a tall pitched roof.  Clad in beige shingles with white trim, with a series of square windows located just under the roof line, enough to provide natural illumination inside, but designed to give anybody within as much privacy as they desired.  
  
The second building had the same architectural style and features as the first, but was taller, wider; longer, and dominated by a Lifeguard tower that was perched at one corner of the pavilion structure at a 45º angle. Further off to the right of the main pavilion was a small gazebo that shared the overall theme of the large buildings.  
  
"Wow." the older of the two boys admitted.  
  
"It's even got a concession stand, and changing rooms... So we don't have to get dressed in public on the beach." Hamish elaborated as they walked towards the structure. Suddenly, a daring look appeared on his face.  "Last one there buys the snacks!" Astrid and Jack had only paused for a moment as Hamish took off at a run, before they chased after him.  As the two sprinted up the long ramp towards the pavilion they gave each other a playful look, determined to beat the other teenager at their side.

* * *

  
Jack had been gracious in defeat, and had promised to grab some food from the concession stand once they'd all gotten changed.  With Hamish dressed in the green splotchy shorts, T-shirt and short sleeved shirt, and Astrid in a pair of shorts, tank top and a lightweight sarong tied around her waist, they'd walked over to the white wooden fence that encircled the pavilion, looking out towards the ocean as they waited for their companion to appear.  
  
"I can't remember the last time we had a race like that." the blond girl smiled wistfully.  
  
"When we were eight, maybe?" the freckled boy mused.  "I think it might be something to do with Jack, it's like that enthusiasm of his is starting to rub off on me."  
  
"You do seem happier." Astrid agreed.  "And you were pretty confident when you suggested going to the beach with him."  
  
"Yeah." he nodded, with a slight blush flushing across his cheeks.  "I know that not everything in my life is perfect... but it's a nice change, knowing that I didn't have to wait to College to have my first relationship."  
  
"Well... There probably is at least one other guy in town other than you and Jack who's gay, they've probably just not worked it out yet.  You are way more mature than a lot of guys." she added playful, giving him a soft punch on the arm.  
  
"Ow!" he rubbed the spot she'd hit, but gave her a warm smile.  
  
"Hey guys, sorry it took so long!" Jack approached with a bag of snacks.  He was dressed in a set of dark blue shorts, and a black short-sleeved shirt that he'd left unbuttoned. Between the folds of the fabric, Hamish could see the suggestion of stomach muscles, as well as the curve of the white-haired boy's chest.  
  
"Breathe, Hamish.  Breathe." Astrid whispered into the freckled boy's ear.

* * *

  
Out on the sand, the sunshine was watery, but there was still plenty of heat and blue sky to make it pleasant.  The three teenagers had picked a spot that was only a few yards from the water, but also within walking distance of the pavilion.  
  
For the first hour on the beach they'd passed the time throwing Jack's Frisbee amongst each other, chuckling more and more as their attempts to catch the flying disk became progressively wilder.  By the time that Hamish crashed into the ice-haired teenager whilst trying to catch one of Astrid's throws, sending both boys into a laughing heap, they'd decided to give the game a rest and went to sit on their towels.  
  
"Drink?" Jack asked, opening the bag of snacks.  
  
"What did you get?" Astrid enquired with interest.  
  
"They had juice, Coke and bottled water."  
  
"Bottled water, thanks." the blond girl nodded.  
  
"And an orange juice for Hamish." the older boy nodded as he handed the drinks out.  "If you guys get hungry, I also got some chips and non-melty candy."  
  
The three of them sat there, enjoying the peace of their surroundings and the impromptu picnic.  A comfortable silence descended on them for several minutes as they luxuriated in each other's company, until finally Hamish broke the quiet:  
  
"Do you fancy going for a walk?"  
  
"Sure." Jack returned with a grin, as he stood he cast his brown eyes down at their companion.  "Astrid?"  
  
She looked up at them over the top of her sunglasses, a knowing smile on her face.  "I can read the subtlety; I'll be fine here for a little bit."  
  
The two boys nodded and began to stroll over to where the foamy tide swept in lazily, before they began to follow it further along the beach.

* * *

  
The two teenagers had remained inaudible for several minutes as they'd walked, unsure of what conversation to strike up.  This time, it was Jack's turn to speak first.  
  
"Thanks for the suggestion, Hic." he gave his freckled companion a flash of a smile.  
  
"No problem." he grinned a little shyly.  
  
"It's nice to get out to the beach, I used to do it a lot when I was younger, but by the time I was twelve we'd fallen out of the habit."  
  
"Were the beaches where you came from any good?"  
   
Overland mulled over the question.  "They were okay, but because Pennsylvania has such a small bit of coastline, and it's all on Lake Erie, it's not really the same as out here.  On a good day you could see Canada across the water.  Here..." he paused to look out at the horizon.  "You have nothing but ocean, that makes the Erie look pretty insignificant."  
  
"Where’d you live in Pennsylvania?"  
  
"A small town called Burgess, nestled somewhere west of Harrisburg.  It's probably a little smaller than Berk." a wistful look floated across his features.  "It didn't have anything spectacular that put it on the map, but most of the people there were decent..."  
  
The freckled boy nodded in understanding. "Why did your family decide to move to Berk?"  
  
Something dark fluttered in Jack's eyes for a moment before he responded.  "My... Uh... My guardian, Nick, he felt he could find better work opportunities here.  He got a job in Providence but chose to live here because it's cheaper than the city." Hamish felt there was more to the explanation than his companion had elaborated on, but he wasn't going to force him if the taller boy didn't want to talk about it.  
  
Jack remained in silence for a few moments as he sought for a way to change the subject: "There many other beaches like this around here?"  
  
"Well, there's the one by the park, and there's a nice gazebo there if the weather turns bad, or you want to have some shade... The only downside is there's no place to change.  Other than that you'd probably have to go further east to Matunuck, because a lot of the coastline west of here is all private, there's a lot of holiday homes along the coast of the state."  
  
"Well, at least we've got this here."  
  
An awkward silence descended between the two boys as they continued to walk for a few more minutes. Eventually, Jack brought them both to a stop.  
  
"You fancy a swim?"  
  
"Sure." Hamish nodded.  
  
"And to make it interesting, last one from here to that cluster or rocks-" he pointed out at a clump of wave-rounded stones that jutted out of the water in the distance, one set of several that could be seen dotted on the coastline and in the water.  "-has to get ice cream for the others."  
  
"You're on!" the freckled boy grinned.  As they charged out towards the water, Jack's black shirt flew past Hamish's head, and in response the shorter teen threw his own short-sleeved shirt and T-shirt behind him without caring.  A moment later they'd splashed into the water and were swimming toward the dark grey stones.  Fortunately the water was cool rather than cold, and felt refreshing after the light sweat they'd worked up from their game earlier.  Despite his efforts however, Hamish acknowledged that Jack was the better swimmer, and accepted with good humour his defeat.

* * *

  
"Hey." Hamish greeted as they walked up to Astrid.  She sat up on her towel and lowered her sunglasses, observing that both boys were bare-chested and dripping wet.  
  
"Hey." she nodded in greeting.  "Have fun?"  
  
"Yep.  Hic's gonna buy us ice cream in a little bit."  
  
"Yeah..." the freckled boy mock groaned.  
  
"I'll take anything with strawberry." she smiled.

Having dried out a little, and gathered up their things, the three teenagers had returned to the pavilion where Hamish had vanished to get their treats from the concession stand.  
  
Jack, who was still bare-chested; rested casually against the pavilion fence as Astrid set her bag down.  
  
"I just want to say... Before Hic gets back, sorry about ditching you for a while."  
  
"It's okay, I knew that a good chunk of this afternoon would be you spending time with him.  I do appreciate the invite though."  
  
"No problem."  
  
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry if I've seemed a bit... Unfriendly.  He's my oldest friend and, well, there've always been those who've picked on him.  Even before Dagur in High School, Stefan... Who's actually Hamish's cousin, used to pick on him when they were younger."  
  
"At least he’s got you.  You're a good friend, Astrid." Jack nodded and wondered, not for the first time, what Dagur would do once he knew that he'd slept with Hamish.  The red-haired bully didn't strike Jack as the kind to keep silent. 


	8. A port in a storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The opening of this chapter gets a bit smutty, and maybe even a bit self-indulgent. Due to the nature of the content, Ao3 has the exclusive in having this story in its uncensored version.

The combination of warm sunlight filtering through his bedroom window blind and the buzzing of his phone roused Hamish from his slumber.  He rolled over towards his bedside table and unlocked his phone, seeing a text alert message on the screen:

 

> _**1 unread message from: Jack** _

 The freckled teenager pressed the screen, selecting the message.

 

> _**Morning! You fancy grabbing dinner with me this evening?** _

 The auburn-haired boy selected the option to call Jack's phone and waited patiently as the phone in his hand rang the other teenager's.  After a short moment, the call was picked up.  
  
_"Hey handsome."_ the voice greeted affectionately from the other end of the line.  _"Did you get my message?"_  
  
"I did." Hamish chuckled.  "Where were you thinking of going tonight?"  
  
_"I was thinking... maybe_ La Strada _Pizza, just off of Main?  I know it's not fancy, but felt like doing something a little different tonight."_  
  
"Sounds good." the freckled boy nodded.  
  
_"Great!"_ Hamish could just about hear the smile down the line.  _"I'll pick you up outside your place around 8:00?"_  
  
"I'll see you then."  
  
_"Yeah, see you then, Hic."_ with that, the call ended and the auburn-haired boy set his phone back down on the table, a wide smile on his face.  
  
As Hamish rolled back to lie on his back in bed, his half-masted morning wood slid against his leg.  He’d been dreaming about Jack before being woken by him, and seeing the white-haired boy shirtless the previous day had had an effect on Hamish’s dreams.  
  
After a moment’s consideration, he kicked the bed sheet back and then tugged his boxers off, enjoying the feeling of his arousal bouncing back against his stomach as the head of his erection caught on the waistband.  
  
He fumbled in his bedside table for a moment before he extracted a bottle of lube and a box of tissues. He then proceeded to squeeze out a small dollop of cool, transparent liquid onto his fingers before he placed the tube back on the table.  
  
Applying the lubricant, he began to slide his hand up and down the shaft, emitting a quiet hiss of pleasure as his fingers closed around the reddened head of his member, before he slid them back down again.  
As he continued to slowly stroke himself, his thoughts went back to Jack from yesterday, remembering how he'd looked without his shirt on, that tall, thin build that made him look like some sort of athlete, maybe a pole-vaulter.  
  
The freckled boy wondered what lay beneath the white-haired boy's shorts. W as Jack a shower?  A grower?  Would Hamish find a dusting of hair around the base of Jack's manhood, or would it be smooth?  Did the carpet match his white drapes?  
  
Hamish let out a low moan, imagining Jack Overland naked.  He imagined that the taller boy's lips were on his, his hands touching his body, Jack's eager erection rubbing and probing against the green-eyed boy.  
He wasn't aware of how long he'd been masturbating, but he was conscious of the slowly building tingle in his loins as his slicked hand massaged his arousal.  
A light sheen of sweat had appeared on his skin as he reached climax, the feeling of something building in his testicles and running through him until it was at the base of his penis.  
  
His face contorting in pleasure and his hand working away, Hamish grunted loudly as he reached orgasm.  Long strands of cum as white as Jack's hair shot from the end of his spasming cock, splattering across his chest and abdomen.  As the intensity subsided, he began to pant.  Spent, Hamish's erection began to flag as it went flaccid, and it rested against his groin, dripping more semen into the small cluster of auburn hairs at the base.  
  
He lay there for several more minutes, basking in the afterglow and the sensation of the warm sunlight on his skin before he mopped up the worst of his ejaculation.  
  
With the tissues deposited in the waste paper basket, he gathered up a fresh set of clothes and a towel, and made his way to the bathroom.  Hesitating briefly to listen for his father, he proceeded to walk along the upstairs hall completely naked, enjoying the cool air on his skin and the freedom of letting it all hang out.  As he prepared to let the stream of water bathe him, he mused on when he might get to see Jack in the nude for real.

* * *

  
Stoick watched as the younger Haddock went through the last preparations for his second official date, although it was technically closer to his third.  
  
"You two are going out again?  Your new friend seems very keen on you."  
  
"He is a little, yeah." Hamish chuckled as he finished messing with his hair.  He was dressed in a brown sweater vest over a green shirt, and a familiar pair of blue jeans. Jack hadn't given any indication as what to wear, so the auburn-haired teenager had opted for something smart/casual. He turned towards his father, sensing that the older man seemed on the verge of wanting to say something, but unsure how to put it into words. "Come on Dad, what's on your mind?"  
  
"Well." the Police Chief cleared his throat.  "I would be lying if I wasn't a little worried that he might have an ulterior motive.  Didn't you say something about him hanging around with your cousin and that other boy at the school who was giving you trouble?"  
  
"I did." Hamish nodded.  "At first I thought maybe he was doing this just to get me right where Dagur wanted me so he could beat me up, but we've had the chance to talk a little, and I think he might be genuinely interested in me."  
  
"If you're certain, Son." Stoick nodded thoughtfully.  "I've not had the chance to speak with him myself."  
  
"Well, I can introduce you to him when he arrives."

* * *

  
_This is it, Jack. Last chance._ his knuckles whitened as he gripped the wheel, directing the car towards Hamish's house on Jay Street.  Why was he such a bundle of nerves all of sudden?  Was it Dagur he was worried about... Or was it Hamish?  
  
He took a deep breath as he slowed the sedan to a stop outside of the Haddocks' house.  It may've been a delay tactic, but he took a moment to study the structure.  
The house was effectively two stories tall, but appeared to have originally been a single story dwelling that had been extended into the roof space in the past.  The front of the house was dominated by a wide porch that spanned the entire wall, and covered by the slope of the roof.  Two large picture windows sat either side of the front door, whilst three dormer windows that were similar in style were nestled amongst the tiles on the roof.  The sides of the house, like most of the buildings in Berk were trimmed in wooden shingles.  
The majority of the house was painted in a burnt orange colour, whilst the trim was a rich crimson.  A pair of brass ship’s lanterns either side of the front door illuminated the porch, and light filtered through the curtains over the windows, making the house appear warm and inviting.  
  
Unable to delay any further, Jack climbed out of the car and walked up to the front door.  He paused before the entrance to give himself one last check, scrutinising his black jeans, light blue T-shirt and dark blue long sleeved shirt one final time before he finally pressed the bell.  
  
The front door swung open a moment later, and Jack was not only greeted by Hamish, but also by a towering figure with a red beard and arms that appeared as thick as the school's goal posts.  
  
"Hi!" the freckled boy greeted warmly.  
  
"Uh... hey." Overland returned, a little nervous of the larger man.  
  
"Before we head out, I was wondering if you wanted to meet my Dad?" Hamish beckoned for Jack to step over the threshold, and he did so.  
  
"So this is the young man I've heard so much about." the large man took a few steps towards the snowy-haired boy.  
  
"Yeah... Yep.  And, depending on what you've heard, it's either true or made up."  
  
"Is that a fact?" the bearded man chuckled and flashed Jack a smile.  
  
"It's uh... It's nice to meet you, Mr. Haddock." he held out a hand.  
  
" _Chief_ Haddock, actually."  
  
"Dad." Hamish rolled his eyes. "You're scaring him."  
  
Stoick threw a slightly disappointed look at his son before his features softened.  "Sorry, I couldn't resist.  What perks do I have from being a parent if I can't put a little bit of fear of the gods into my Son's boyfriend?" he gripped Jack's still-outstretched hand and shook it firmly.  "It's good to meet you, Jack."  
  
The brown-eyed boy finally managed to exhale, and gave his date an uneven smile.  He hoped this night didn't kill him.

* * *

  
"Would you like anything to drink?" Stoick asked as Jack and Hamish sat down at one side of the breakfast table.  
  
"Uh, Pepsi if you have any."  
  
It wasn't long at all before the elder Haddock had returned, setting a glass of cola, a glass of orange juice and a coffee for himself on the table.  He then sat down opposite them and smiled warmly.  
  
"Hamish mentioned that you moved here from Pennsylvania two months ago.  How are you settling in here?"  
  
"We're all settled... My adoptive guardian and I."  
  
"Do you not have any family with you?" Stoick asked, concerned.  Jack glanced at the freckled teen beside him for a moment before replying.  
  
"Not any more, all I have is Nick, now.  He gave me a home, and when he decided to move here for work I came along."  
  
"I'm sorry to hear." the Police Chief nodded.  
  
"Same here." Hamish added, giving Jack's hand a squeeze beneath the table.  Why did he suddenly feel butterflies from the other boy's touch?  
  
"It's been alright though, there's a lot of familiarity with where I used to live here in Berk, but it's nice being able to see the sea, and get out to a decent beach."  
  
"Hamish told me all about the fun you had with him and Astrid." the older man beamed.  "I'm glad you've been able to give him another friend."  
  
Jack glanced at Hamish and gave him that familiar lop-sided smile. "I try."  
  
Stoick glanced at the clock above the kitchen door; it was creeping towards a quarter past eight.  "I'd better let you two get going, I don't want to tie you two up when you're supposed to be on a date."  
  
The two teenagers finished off their drinks, and the elder Haddock walked them to the front door.  
  
"It was good getting to meet you Jack, I'm glad we had a chance to chat."  
  
"No problem, Chief Haddock."  
  
Stoick emitted a chuckle.  "Let's go with Mr. Haddock for now.  Make sure he isn't home too late, it might not be a school night... But I don't want him sleeping in 'til noon tomorrow."  
  
"I'll get him back in time." the taller boy nodded with a smile.  
  
"Good.  Have a good time you two."  
  
Stoick remained at the door as the two boys walked over to Jack's car.  
  
"Sorry about that." Hamish whispered as he climbed into the front passenger seat.  
  
"It's okay; I bet Nick would probably have done the same thing if you'd been picking me up from home." Jack shrugged. He turned the key in the ignition and looked at the freckled boy with an enthusiastic face. "So, still up for Pizza?"

* * *

  
_La Strada_ Pizza was a small building, located just off of Berk's Main Street which appeared to have formerly been a house.  The pizzeria was single story, with a pitched roof, clad in white clapboards and with two triple-width windows on the front, with a simple door sat in the middle.  
A partial porch on the front of the building offered a sheltered eating space with a scattering of wrought-iron patio furniture.  In front of the building, in a sandy plot were picnic benches with umbrellas, providing additional eating for when the weather was good.  Fastened to the dark grey roof of the building was a simple rectangular sign, bordered in red and bearing the business name.  With the encroachment of night, a pair of spotlights on the roof illuminated the sign, whilst the porch and outside space were lit invitingly.  
  
Inside, the décor was simple; but carried Italian accents.  Jack was the first to arrive at the counter, and he looked over the long menu of options as Hamish joined him at his side.  
  
"What do you fancy? They seem to have everything." the brown-eyed boy asked, a little lost for choice.  
  
"How about a little of everything?"  
  
Jack turned and grinned at his companion.  "Hamish Haddock, on the outside he might look like he's all hard work and deadlines, but secretly he's snowball fights and fun times!"  
  
"I can hold my own in a snowball fight." the freckled boy said proudly.  "Just don't ever throw one at Astrid."  
  
"Sounds like a challenge." the taller teenager smirked.  Turning back to the clerk behind the counter, Jack gave him a broad smile.  "One Fanta, one Coke, and one large with everything on it."

* * *

  
Over the course of the evening they'd conversed on a wide range of topics as the drinks and pizza had slowly disappeared.  As it became apparent, Hamish had a fondness for sardines and pepperoni, whilst Jack had admitted a preference for ham and mushrooms.  They'd also learned that they had some shared interests in science fiction and adventure movies, and that at some point they would have to check out the small cinema near Berk to see what it might be showing.  
  
With the last of the pizza eaten, Jack stretched himself luxuriously, like a big cat.  The food had been satisfying, as had the company.  
  
"Tired?" the freckled boy asked playfully.  
  
"Nah, just full." he nodded, patting his stomach.  "Fancy walking the pizza off a little?"  
  
"Sure." Hamish stood up from the table and they began to stroll back towards Main Street.  
  
As they approached the small square that sat in front of the smart, single-story structure of Berk's Town Hall, a clock in the distance rang out; announcing that it was now nine in the evening.  The stretch of Main Street was mostly quiet, save for a few cars and townsfolk who were out enjoying their Saturday night along with the two teenagers.  Although the majority of the businesses were dark, the street was awash with light from the lampposts.  
  
As they passed under the lit neon sign of the Hairy Hooligan Pub, Hamish edged a little closer.  
  
"You feeling cold?" Jack asked, curious of the freckled boy's sudden proximity.  
  
"No, I'm fine." the auburn-haired teen responded.  "I just... I just wondered if maybe... If it wasn't too sappy-" he paused. "-if maybe... You might... You know... Like to hold hands?"  
  
"You want to hold hands with me?"  
  
"If you don't want to, that's-"  
  
The white-haired boy interrupted him with the simple gesture of wrapping his hand around Hamish's.  The freckled boy's face reddened but he didn't let go.  
  
"I'll let you in on a little secret, I liked how you held my hand back at your Dad's." they remained with their fingers entwined as they continued to walk, leaving the end of Main Street and approaching a small scenic spot that overlooked the town harbour.

* * *

  
They'd sat in a friendly, familiar silence as the boats in the distanced bobbed with the tide, the odd sound of wind chimes ringing and a ships bell tolling lazily rolled back towards them over the sound of the waves lolling against the breakwaters.  There was a simple beauty to the area after dark, and Jack had to admit he was more than happy to spend the time with his date.  
  
It was only the tolling of the clock above Berk Bait and Tackle that reminded him that there was something he had to put into action.  It surprised him that between the short bits of conversation they'd had interspersed with the periods of silence, enjoying each other's company and the ambience of the spot above the harbour, that it was now ten in the evening.  He rose from the bench, drawing Hamish's attention.  
  
"We'd better get going."  
  
Hamish let out a yawn and nodded, reluctantly leaving the comfort of the bench.  Although they didn't hold hands again, the two teenagers did lock arms as they walked back to the car.  The pizzeria was still open when they walked back into the business's parking lot, but it looked like the stream of custom had dried up for the evening.  The two boys climbed into the vehicle and Jack steered the sedan back out onto Main Street.  
  
"Thanks for the evening." the freckled boy smiled from the passenger seat.  "I know it wasn't as exciting as the burger place, but I had fun."  
  
"Glad to hear." Jack smiled, as he turned off Main and onto State Street.  
  
The turning for Jay Street approached, and something formed in the pit of Hamish's stomach as his home vanished behind them.  
  
"Uh... Jack... That was my turning back there."  
  
"It's okay Hic... I've got a surprise for you.  I think you're going to like it."  
  
A sudden pang of worry invaded the emerald-eyed boy's thoughts, bringing his father's concerns from earlier that evening back to the forefront.  
  
_Where's he taking me? Am I going to find Dagur and Snotlout where we're going?_  


	9. On thin ice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for uploading only half the story yesterday, I had wanted to get it all done in one sitting but some minor formatting issues cropped up from the save file.
> 
> Also, a further note of more smuttiness towards the end of this chapter, just so you've been warned.

Hamish's concerns hadn't eased up as the town had dropped away and Jack had driven into the thick woods north of Berk.  He'd turned off of the roadway onto a less major thoroughfare, and had stopped the car in front of a set of chain-link gates.  
  
"We're here." the taller teen smiled as he clambered out of the vehicle.  
  
"Jack... Where are we?" the lack of illumination and signage had caused the freckled boy to lose his bearings.  
  
"Like I said, it's a surprise.  We're going to have a little fun." he waited for Hamish to climb out of the car before he locked it.  A brief spell of darkness settled over them as the interior light of the car went off, before a small LED flashlight illuminated in Jack's hand.  "Follow me."  
  
The freckled boy followed cautiously as the older teenager approached the gates.  From his pocket he extracted a ring of keys, and he undid the padlock keeping the gate closed.  With their entry unbarred, he held the gate open for Hamish to go through before he followed, locking it behind him.  
  
_Gods... What's he going to do to me here?_  
  
Hamish felt Jack's hand snake around his own as they walked through the darkness, the only guide was the taller boy's light.  After a few minutes of walking that seemed longer than they probably were, Jack brought them to a stop.  
  
"Okay, just wait here... I'll be right back. Oh... And keep your eyes closed until I say so, please?"  
  
Hamish studied what he could see of Jack's face in the reflected light of the flashlight before he reluctantly nodded.  As soon as the freckled boy's eyes were closed, the glow behind his eyelids began to dim, and he could hear the other boy jogging off into the distance.  He swallowed, suspecting that this was going to be the moment that Dagur and Stefan would jump out and surprise him, before beating him up.  
  
He jumped a little when a new source of illumination brightened in the distance, followed by a low electric hum and... Music?  
  
"Okay, you can open your eyes now!" Jack's voice echoed from a few yards away, and the auburn-haired boy dared to look.  Instead of the two bullies, he was greeted by the sight of Berk's ice rink.  
The skating section of the rink was a large circle, with a small raised platform in the middle where they would raise a real tree that would be decorated for Christmas.  He could see Jack emerging from the single story structure that comprised the rink offices, concession stand and skate rental kiosk.  The rink was lit by a series of powerful floodlights that were erected around the perimeter.  Strung between the floodlights, and hung in sweeping arcs across the adjacent building were festive strands of multi-coloured Christmas lights.  
  
Hamish looked across the sight in awe as Jack approached, his hands behind his back.  
  
"How did you manage to arrange this?"  
  
"I called in a favour. B egging was involved... A lot of begging." the white-haired boy admitted.  
  
"You've outdone yourself." Hamish smiled.  "It breaks my heart a little to point out the place isn't open until late autumn because it doesn't get cold enough for ice before then."  
  
"I know." Jack nodded, and it was then that Hamish realised the other teen had been concealing something behind his back.  He brought the items out, revealing two sets of roller skates.  
  
The freckled boy looked at them, lost for words for a moment, before he gave the other boy a beaming smile.  "Well played."

* * *

  
Despite the lack of ice, the surface of the rink proved reasonable enough for them to skate across, and soon enough they were working their way around the large circle, enjoying the freedom and the selection of music that was pumped out of the rink speakers.  
  
Jack let out a joyful laugh as he circled Hamish. "You having fun over here?"  
  
"I am, I'd be having more if I weren't falling over." the green-eyed boy replied.  
  
"It's all a matter of practice." the older teenager responded.  
  
"Easy for you to say!" the auburn-haired boy playfully retorted, before his eyes went wide as he lost his balance.  "Whoa!"  
  
"Shit!  Are you okay?" Jack skated over and helped Hamish to his feet.  With both of them now standing, he helped the freckled teenager over to the fence surrounding the rink so that he had something to put his weight against.  
  
"Thanks." Hamish nodded. "Ow."  
  
"Are you hurt?" his companion's face was etched with concern.  
  
"Just a pair of sore knees and my pride."  
  
"I'll have a quick look, make sure they aren't skinned." Jack rolled each leg of Hamish's jeans up in turn, and nodded in relief when he saw that the shorter boy's knees simply looked a little red, rather than scraped.  Satisfied that there wasn't an injury, he rolled the material back down and rose to full height.  "Looks okay from here."  
  
A playful look crossed Hamish's face. "I'm only 'okay'?"  
  
The white-haired boy blanched for a moment.  "Wait... I didn't mean..."  
  
"I know, Frosty."  
  
One of Jack's eyebrows rose at the remark. "'Frosty'?"  
  
"Well, you do look like you have snow for hair.  Besides, who says I can't have a cute pet name for you?"  
  
Jack smiled.  Hamish could be a dork, but he was a fun dork.  
Around them, the music listing moved onto a new track, a piece featuring stirring strings and piano accompaniment.  
  
On instinct, Jack pushed away from the edge, pulling his companion with him.  The momentum rolled them out to somewhere halfway between the rail and the Christmas Tree platform.  With a little kick, Jack made the two of them go through a slow spin, causing the coloured lights around them to dance in a kaleidoscopic vortex.  
  
"I'm sorry I'm so bad at this." Hamish breathed, his face a little flushed.  
  
"It's okay." Jack smiled.  "At least now that we're here, I can do things like this." he put his hands on the freckled boy's waist and pulled him closer.  On instinct, the auburn-haired teenager draped his arms around his skating companion's neck.  
  
"Has anyone told you lately how beautiful you are?" the taller boy asked as he kicked them into another rotation.  
  
Hamish shook his head. "Nope."  
  
"Well you are." Overland smiled, before he leaned in and placed a light peck on the other boy's lips.  
  
They lingered there for a moment, before they shared a second, longer kiss on the rink, enjoying the setting of the music, the lights and the privacy of having the space to themselves.

* * *

  
They'd wanted to stay longer at the rink, but with the advancing hour they'd made the decision to head back, in order to not spoil the end to a good evening.  
  
The journey back to the Haddock household had seemed a fraction of the length of the journey to the rink, and Hamish now wondered why he'd let himself get so caught up in his runaway worries.  
  
Arriving outside of the orange and crimson house, they found it to be completely dark.  Jack reasoned that Stoick had likely gone to bed, given that the time was now approaching eleven at night.  
  
"Thanks for coming out with me tonight Hic, I had a lot of fun."  
  
"Same here." Hamish nodded with a smile.  
  
"If you haven't gotten bored with me by now, then maybe we could hang out at some point tomorrow?"  
  
The freckled boy appeared thoughtful for a moment.  "We could hang out now."  
  
Despite his best efforts, a look of surprise crossed the older boy's face.  He gulped. "Are you asking...?"  
  
"That depends... What do you think I'm asking?"  
  
Jack wasn't sure how to proceed.  "Um... Yeah, I'd like to hang out with you."  
  
The freckled boy nodded.  "Come on, I can rustle up something to drink."  
  
Hamish was already unlocking the front door by the time Jack had locked up the car, within another minute he was stood with the forest-eyed boy in the front hall as his date locked the door behind them.  
  
As the shorter teen vanished off in the direction of the kitchen, Overland entered what he believe was the living room, flicking on a pair of switches by the door to illuminate the space.  The burst of light revealed that he'd guessed right.  
  
A low coffee table sat in the middle of the area, flanked by a couch and several matching chairs.  Sat in one corner of the room was a chair with a standing lamp, perched near a stuffed bookcase.  Beneath the large picture window was a table cluttered with framed photographs.  
  
Jack stepped towards the table with the photos, and studied the selection of scenes that were on display.  Many of the shots appeared to be of family members, whilst a few showed Stoick in his uniform with colleagues.  One photo in particular caught Jack's eye, and he looked at it more closely.  Although they looked several years younger than they were now, the teenager recognised not only Stefan, but beside him was the unmistakeable face of Hamish.  Neither boy seemed to be very happy with being stood next to the other.  
  
A second photograph caught the teen's attention.  Again, it was several years old, and it depicted a much younger Stoick, who was stood smiling next to an equally-happy looking woman with brown hair and a kind face.  Cradled in her arms was a small baby with reddish-brown hair.  He knew instantly who the infant was.  
  
_Where's his Mom?_  
  
The sound of movement brought his attention back to the here and now, and he saw Hamish entering the doorway.  
  
"Oh boy... I hope there aren't any of my baby pictures there." he remarked sheepishly as he set the drinks down.  
  
"There's... Uh... There's only one." Jack wished he could silence the words as soon as he'd uttered them.  
  
"It's okay." the freckled teenager nodded as he approached.  "It happened so long ago, I can't really remember what she was like.  I miss her though, but it's nice to have a reminder of Mom."  
  
"Look... Hamish... I..." Overland paused, swallowing to clear his throat.  Before he could proceed, Hamish put a finger to his lips.  
  
"Let's not let anything spoil the evening." he smiled, and Jack nodded, a sad half-smile on his face.  
  
They were close together again, and the same pull that they felt at the rink was there.  They hesitated a moment, before they kissed.  This time, Jack's tongue poked against Hamish's lips, and they stumbled across the carpet until they were against the back of the couch.  
  
Their drinks forgotten, the taller boy pulled the freckled teenager nearer, their eagerness clear.  Before he was even aware of what he was doing, Jack realised his hand had snuck under Hamish's shirt and was sliding across the emerald-eyed teenager's abdomen.  The auburn-haired boy pulled the two of them across the back of the couch and onto the arm, before they both tumbled over the arm and onto the cushions.  Straddling Hamish, they suddenly froze as what they were doing sunk in.  
  
Jack suddenly pulled his lips away from his companion, as Hamish tensed.  A moment later he scooted a little towards the far end of the couch.  
  
Jack took a few steps away from the freckled boy, running a hand through his ivory hair.  
  
"I'm so sorry!  I... I don't know what I was doing!" he wasn't sure if he was apologising for impulsively kissing Hamish, or for what he'd been dared to do.  
  
"Jack, wait!" the shorter teenager urged, holding out a hand as the older boy began to move towards the front door.  "I was just a little nervous..." he added.  "I think, maybe... It might be best if we went up to my room."  
  
Jack turned back to face the other boy, his feelings and thoughts a muddle of confusion.  He'd been trying to reassure himself that he was straight, but the case for his heterosexuality was quickly losing ground in the presence of Hamish Haddock.  
  
After a long uncomfortable silence, he did his best to swallow his feelings down and to try calm his nerves.  He looked at the freckled boy with nervous brown eyes.  
  
"We don't have to do this, if you think we're going too fast.  I don't want to do anything you don't want to do."  
  
Hamish pulled himself off of the couch and approached the other teenager before him. He took his companion's hand in his and looked him square in the eye.  
  
"I want to. I trust you, Jack."

* * *

  
They'd made their way quietly up to Hamish's room, making sure to tidy the Living Room before leaving.  
  
In the illumination provided by the freckled boy's reading lamp, Jack gently pushed the smaller teen onto the bed.  A moment later he climbed on after him, kissing his companion's lips softly.  
  
In mutual attraction, Hamish kissed back as his right hand raked itself through Jack's hair.  His right hand joined his left at the base of Overland's neck, before they both slid down and then back up the curve of the taller teenager's spine.  
  
Although he felt the urge to do so, Jack did his best to extinguish the sounds of passion that threatened to escape.  He was less successful in burying the shudder that ran through his body from his companion’s touch.  He leant forward, placing a succession of tender kisses along the auburn-haired teenager's jawline.  
  
"You are beautiful, Hiccup." he mumbled distractedly, before he placed another kiss on his date's neck.  With some effort, Hamish pulled himself up again and caught Jack's lips with his own.  
  
The shorter boy ran his hands down Jack's backbone one final time, before he pulled them back, helping the boy kissing him to remove his long sleeved shirt.  With a deft fling, the item of clothing had landed in the middle of the floor, and had only lain there for a brief moment before it was joined by Hamish's sweater vest.  
  
As they continued to kiss, Jack undid each of the buttons of the freckled boy's shirt, exposing Hamish's chest.  He paused for a moment, opening the shirt further to take in the view.  In the glow of the lamp, Hamish's skin looked pale, but Overland could make out the dusting of freckles that covered his shoulders. The white-haired boy placed a kiss between Hamish's pectorals, before he brushed his lips against one of his companion's nipples, followed closely by the other.  
  
The sound of Hamish moaning was proving intoxicating, and he revelled in that noise.  Despite the barrage of affection that he was being given, the other teenager managed to succeed in pulling off Jack's T-shirt.  
  
They lost track of time completely as they eventually shed their jeans and their socks.  Clad only in their boxers, the signs of their arousal were unavoidable.  Jack reached over to the lamp and with a wry smile, snapped off the light.  
  
With no warning, Hamish felt his underwear slide off, and vanish from his body completely.  A moment later, he felt Jack shift on top of him before he heard a second bit of fabric fall to the floor.  A bolt of exhilaration ran through him at the realisation that they were both naked.  
  
Completely stripped, the white-haired teenager lay down on top of his auburn-haired consort, and they both felt their bodies rubbing together, stimulating and stoking the fires of their passion.  Hamish shivered a little as fingertips that weren't his own danced along the head and length of his teenhood, and he felt Jack similarly respond as he trailed his digits down the taller boy's chest, and across his own erection.  
  
For an unknown length of time they explored each other, discovering and enjoying the pleasant curves, subtle musculature and tender spots they found.  Jack found himself enjoying the ability to kiss the new spots of skin that he could reach, and Hamish liked the feeling of his hands against his companion's abdomen and chest, especially feeling the deep thud of the brown-eyed boy's heart, and knowing that he was the reason for Jack's increased heart rate.  
  
Overland finally looked up at his freckled lover, and silently, as if knowing what Jack wanted to say, Hamish gave him a nod, granting him permission.  
  
"Do you have any... Um…" he paused, awkward despite himself.  
  
"In the night stand." the auburn-haired boy responded.  Jack leant over and opened the drawer.  
After a few minutes he'd found what he was looking for.  Reluctantly he leant over the side of the bed and felt for his jeans, before he finally managed to locate them and the wallet he had inside.  From it he extracted the small square of plastic he'd been looking for, and returned to lying atop the subject of his attraction.  Setting the bottle of liquid to one side, he ripped the small square packet open and passed it to Hamish.  
  
"If you could-" he didn't need to finish, his companion took the condom from the packaging, and slid it over Jack's erection.  The brown-eyed teen gasped a little as Hamish's hands slid the latex down, revelling in the sensation of the freckled teenager's hands on him.  All of Jack's confusion over his sexuality was banished from his mind.  
  
Once the auburn-haired boy had finished, he looked up at his white-haired lover, who was barely visible in the darkness.  
  
"Here's where it gets tricky." Overland whispered.  "Last chance to stop if we're going to fast."  
   
"I want to." Hamish stated, and Jack couldn't help but smile.  
  
"Okay." he replied, rubbing the freckled boy's cheek affectionately.  "After I've put some of this stuff on... I'm going to need to lube you up as well." Hamish nodded in understanding. "It's going to feel weird... And once that's done... I'm going to have to... to..."  
  
The boy beneath him laughed a little nervously.  "Stretch it?"  
  
The white-haired teenager was more surprised than he felt he should've been. "Uh, yeah."  
  
"I may not've had a boyfriend, Jack... But I do have the internet."  
  
"Okay." his companion smirked.  "Do you want to lie on your back, or propped up on all fours?"  
  
"On my back." Jack nodded as he raised the other boy's legs over his shoulders.  
  
"This is going to be messy, either way."  Hamish nodded in understanding, and Jack positioned himself, placing his hands temporarily on the other teenager's waist. "I'm going to start... Let me know if it gets uncomfortable, or painful."  
  
The sensation of Jack's finger entering was strange, and at first uncomfortable.  Despite his best efforts, Hamish emitted a quiet moan as Jack continued to work on him.  The freckled boy's hands fisted the bed sheet beneath him as his companion went further, and eventually retracted his hands.  A brief period later, Hamish could feel something round pushing against him, and he steadied himself as best he could.  
  
"As I said, if it becomes painful, tell me and I'll stop." he hesitated.  "Ready?"  
  
"Ready." Hamish nodded, and without another word, Jack entered his freckled companion as gently as he could.  
  
The auburn-haired boy gasped, and tears strained at his eyes.  Jack leant forward and kissed his lover's cheeks, doing his best to distract Hamish from the discomfort.  Feeling the wetness of Hamish’s tears, Jack had the horrible feeling they wouldn't be the last he'd see on his companion’s face, and despite his attempts to do so, there was a little voice in the back of his mind reminding him about the dare... A little voice that sounded more than a bit like Dagur.


	10. Cast asunder

Jack's senses slowly returned to him as he awoke to consciousness, the presence of the boy next to him quickly reminding him of the night before.  He slid his left arm around Hamish's waist and pulled him closer, enjoying the nearness of his lover.  He lay there silently as the freckled boy dozed, the memories of what they'd done together, and of how he'd been feeling presenting irrefutable proof of what he'd been denying.  It had taken Hamish Haddock to finally make Jack Overland realise where his attractions truly lay.  
  
With the sunlight streaming through the blinds onto the auburn-haired boy's face, lying there in those circumstances, it was undeniable to Jack now how attractive and handsome he found the other teenager.  He peered closer for a moment and squinted a little at the curve of the other teenager's chin.  Below Hamish's mouth, on the left side of his face was a thin line that marked the flesh.  
  
_How did I never notice that scar before?_ He wondered over the new development, had it been something Hamish had gotten from something he'd done to himself?  Was Stefan responsible for it? Dagur?  
  
Along with how he felt about the other teen, he pondered on how he hadn't properly seen it until now.  
  
_Was I just not looking hard enough?_ he wondered, as the uncomfortable recollection of Dagur's dare resurfaced.  Stopping the bully's attack on Hamish in the Locker room had helped to get Jack closer to the green-eyed boy, and looking back their interaction had seemed so natural, so unforced.  He brushed a few stray strands of reddish-brown hair out of the younger teenager's face as he finally put it all together: he'd fallen for Hamish.  
  
An affectionate smile crossed his lips, before he leant over and placed a kiss softly on his companion's forehead.  
  
He silently cursed as the other teenager frowned slightly, and began to shift beside him.  Emerald eyes fluttered open and for a moment, a note of surprise darted through them before his eyebrows lowered themselves, and a half-smile formed on his face.  
  
"Did you sleep well?" the boy with the snowy-mane asked, caressing his bedmate's face.  
  
"Very well, although I kept having these dreams about an imp with white hair."  
  
"I've no idea who that could be." Jack retorted with a wry grin.  
   
 Hamish beamed up at him, before he sat up far enough to share a kiss with his lover.  They enjoyed the moment of intimacy for several minutes before they parted, Hamish sitting back and resting his head against Jack's chest. He gazed up at the sloped ceiling of his bedroom, as if it held the answers to the mysteries of the universe.  
  
"What does this make us?"  
  
Jack sighed. "I have no idea.  I've never done this with anyone before."  
  
"It's a little too soon to call ourselves boyfriends..."  
   
His headrest nodded in agreement. "...But sometime soon, I'd like to call you that."  
  
"Same here." Hamish smiled, the smile then shifted to concern as a new thought arose.  "What should we do about school?  Dagur and Stefan are certain to make fun of you if they see us hanging out?"  
  
The older teenager moved to sit up, and he then pulled Hamish to sit in his lap.  
  
"I don't care what they think... I don't want to lie." he admitted.  "I'm gonna stop hanging around with Dagur and... And Snotlout." Hamish chuckled.  "You're more important to me than they are."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"I've been wanting a reason to cut my ties with them for a while, and you're the best reason I've found.  I don't want to spend time with those assholes anymore."  
  
Hamish leant forward and planted a kiss on Jack's lips.  "Well, then I'm glad to be of assistance." he slid off of his lover and off of the bed, rising to his feet.  He stood in front of Jack, not the least bit self-conscious of his nudity.  "I'm going to take a shower..." he remarked as he grabbed a towel and some fresh clothes. "Fancy joining me?"  As if to emphasize his point, Hamish gave his flaccid member a few inviting tugs.  
  
Jack's was already starting to stiffen at the invitation.  "You had to ask?" the taller teenager smirked, before rushing after his companion.

* * *

  
After towelling each other off with more than a little bit of affectionate attention, the two boys finally clambered down to the kitchen, where they'd found Stoick in the process of cooking breakfast and Toothless in the midst of eating.  Jack had been worried of what the elder Haddock might've said about him staying the night, but tactfully the Police Chief had asked if they'd had a good time the previous evening, and if they had anything planned for Sunday.  
  
With a quick telephone call to Nicholas, Jack had been granted permission to stay over at Hamish's until the early afternoon, where the two companions had lounged on the couch in the living room, watching a science fiction movie starring Tom Cruise.  Jack was reluctant to leave the cosy spot when the credits finished rolling, but he knew he had to be heading back.  As he prepared to depart, Hamish walked him out to the car where he'd left it parked.  
  
"Thanks for last night.  The skating was great, and afterward..."  
  
"I'm glad. I had fun... Doing both." Jack responded, a warm smile and a blush on his face.  
  
"Same here." Hamish agreed, before he leant forward and planted a kiss on the older boy's lips.  They separated soon after, and Overland climbed into the car.  Before driving off, he wound down his window.  
  
"I'll pick you up tomorrow before school."  
  
Hamish smirked. "Do you ever give your guardian a chance to use his car?"  
  
"He’s cool with it, he carpools to work."  
  
"Alright." Hamish playfully conceded. "See you in the morning, then."  
  
"Yeah, see you then... Hiccup." Jack gave his lover a quick wave, and pulled away from the curb.  Hamish continued to watch the car shrink into the distance, until it was no longer in sight.  Finally gone, he turned and went back indoors with what he would strenuously deny was a spring in his step.

* * *

  
Just as he'd promised, Jack was waiting for Hamish outside of the freckled boy's house the next morning.  The two teenagers had remained in familiar silence as they drove there, enjoying the music selection that spilled out of the car radio.  As Jack guided the car into one of the empty spaces in the school parking lot, he turned to his companion as he removed the key from the ignition.  
  
"Ready?"  
  
Hamish nodded. "Yeah."  
  
A few heads had turned out of curiosity upon seeing Hamish Haddock climbing out of Jack Overland’s car.  The driver made his way around the vehicle to his passenger, and stopped in front of him.  A few seconds later he kissed Hamish on the lips, causing more heads to turn, along with a murmur of quiet chatter.  
  
"I'd rather stay here with you and give them something to gawk at... But Nick says I need to focus on my History grades."  
  
The freckled boy chuckled.  "I'll see you in English, if not before." he grinned.  
  
"C'mon." Jack winked, and taking the forest-eyed teenager's hand, led the two of them past the crowd and into the building.

* * *

  
Quicker than he'd realised it, both History, recess and Shop had come and gone, and lunchtime was upon them.  With a double period with Hamish to round off the day, Jack was looking forward to spending more time with the boy with the freckles, however as he set his books inside his locker, the uncomfortable presence of two unwelcome visitors appeared at his side.  
  
"It's Monday Jack, how'd it go?  How far did you get?" Dagur asked.  "Did you spend one unforgettable night with the Fishbone?  He bigger than you expected?  Was he Smaller? Did he cry out your name?" to Overland's right, Stefan sniggered.  
  
"The dare's off, Dagur." that unnerving smile faltered slightly, as a dark flash flickered in the ponytailed boy's eyes.  
  
"I think I must be hearing things... I could've sworn you just said 'the dare's off'."  
  
Jack closed his locker and fully turned toward the bully. "You heard me, I don't want to be a part of this anymore."  
  
"You don't get to decide that." Stefan interjected, rubbing his left fist nonchalantly against his open right palm.  
  
"Exactly." Dagur nodded, amused.  "I decide who quits and when."  
  
"Not anymore." Jack glowered, before he pushed past Stefan to walk away.  
  
"Did he enjoy it?  Was he any good?" Dagur had begun to shout down the hallway.  "You really fell in love with him, didn't you!"  
  
The brown-eyed boy did his best to ignore Dagur's ravings, which were now attracting the attention of the other students in the hallway.  "You two fags were made for each other!  I hope he doesn't find out you only slept with him to win a dare with meeee!"  
  
Jack had almost reached the turn in the corridor that led to the cafeteria, when he spotted both Hamish and Astrid stood there.  The shorter boy's face looked sickly pale, and at the sight of Overland, the blond girl's expression changed to one of fury.  
  
The jolt of shock that went through the taller boy's system was sudden, and for a moment he felt unable to move or speak.  The hurt in Hamish's eyes had rooted him to the spot.  
  
The freckled boy wiped his hand across his eyes as his face reddened, his hand shaking at the considerable effort he was making to try remain as calm as possible.  
  
"Is... Is it true?" he asked accusingly, his voice uneven.  
  
Jack's heart broke at the sight of his lover's venomous glare.  He tried to find something to say, but he came up empty.  The smaller teen took a single step forward; having decided the taller boy's silence was more than enough of an admission in itself.  
  
"Don't talk to me, don't look at me.  If you see me in the hall, walk on the other side." without another word, the betrayed teenager spun and quickly left the hallway, Astrid following in his stead, urgently trying to speak with him.  Jack glanced up to his right to see Fiske stood amongst the crowd in the hall; the blond boy silently shook his head in disappointment.  
  
After what seemed like an age, his sluggish senses kicked in and he began to run in pursuit.

* * *

  
He burst out of the front doors of the school and looked around, trying to catch sight of where the other teenager had gone to, but he wasn't anywhere in sight.  
  
"Gahhh!" he howled in frustration and retreated back into the building, defeated.  With the end of lunch bell nearing, Jack reluctantly returned to his locker to retrieve his books.  As he prepared for his next class he felt the horrible certainty that he wouldn't see his hurt friend at all.  With a resigned sigh he closed the locker, and began to make his way to the English classroom.  
  
As he passed the hallway junction leading to the gym, Dagur gave him a knowing wink whilst Stefan snickered.  Seeing red, Overland surged forward and grabbed the brown-haired bully by the collar of his jacket.  
  
"Shut up. Just shut up you little Snotlout."  
  
A pang of annoyed recognition appeared on Stefan's face and he balled his fist ready to punch Jack.  Before he could do so however, Dagur placed a hand on his and forced him to lower it.  
  
"Let him go." the red-haired bully smirked.  "It's going to be a lot more fun watching Jack pick up the pieces.  Have fun, faggot."  
  
The two bullies left Jack to his thoughts and the reality of what happened.  It was only at that point that he realised he'd been crying.


	11. All that remains

As he’d feared, Hamish hadn't turned up to his class at all.  Not wanting to see him get into trouble from being tardy, Jack had made sure to inform Mr. Pitchiner that the freckled boy had gone home because he was feeling ill.  
  
In contrast to the morning, the remainder of the afternoon dragged on nearly endlessly, leaving too much time for Jack's thoughts to linger on the disaster during lunch.  When the final bell rang at the end of the school day, he traipsed slowly over to his car in the parking lot and slid the key into the door. He didn't proceed any further, instead opting to rest his head against the cool metalwork.  
  
_What the hell do I do now?_ he thought despondently, lost as to how to proceed.

* * *

  
Hamish didn't return to school for classes on Tuesday, or for Wednesday.  Eventually he missed an entire week of attendance, a week that was only made slightly less worse by the thankful fact that Dagur and Stefan had decided to leave Jack alone, the damage having been done.  
  
On the eve of the weekend, he'd tried to call the auburn-haired boy, but all his calls would do was ring before eventually going to voicemail.  It wasn't long at all before his attempts would only go to voicemail, indicating that Hamish had turned his phone off.  
  
The thought had occurred to Jack to go to the Haddocks' house and try speaking to him directly, but he'd quickly dismissed it.  Unable to make any progress, the he'd fallen into the habit of brooding over what had happened.  Although Nicholas had picked up in the change in Jack's attitude, the teenager was unwilling to open up, frustrating his guardian's attempts to help and find the source of the problem.  
  
A fresh Monday dawned and Jack dragged himself out of bed.  Part of him was reluctant to go to school, but his desire to try fix things with Hamish won him over, leading to him missing the first period of the day in the hope he might catch his freckled former friend arriving.  At lunch Jack sat alone, eating his meal disinterestedly and looking miserable.  He deserved it; he knew that, as he poked his fork at his mashed potatoes, no longer feeling hungry.  
  
By the end of classes, Jack returned to his car, knowing that Hamish had now missed a fifth day of school in a row. As he unlocked the sedan, he felt a presence behind him, and turned to see Astrid marching up to him, with what looked like murder in her blue eyes.  
  
"Did nothing I say about Hamish sink into that thick, peroxide bleached skull of yours?"  
  
He backed up against the vehicle, never having seen such anger and intense hatred from the girl before - having not seen her for most of the previous week, her resentment toward him had built up into a volcano.  
  
"It all did!" he shouted.  "What you'd told me about Stefan picking on him, that he's had a rough time because of his cousin and Dagur... That you were the first person he came out to and you helped him come out to his Dad.  I even know a little about how his mother passed away when he was young!"  
  
Astrid looked a little disarmed at his response, and her expression softened to a degree. "Then why did you do it?"  
  
He looked her square in the eye. "Because I'm a coward, I'm desperate for acceptance and because I was probably as scared of Dagur as Hiccup was." he slid down the side of the car into a sitting position.  Opposite him, she sat down on the patch of grass adjacent to the parking spot.  "Hell, I think I was probably even more scared than Hamish.  Despite all the shit Dagur put him through over the two months since I moved here, I never once saw him get a rise out of Hamish.  I wish I could've been that strong."  
  
"You managed to stop Dagur and Snotlout when they were hurting him in the Locker Room."  
  
He looked up at her sceptically.  "For all I know they probably arranged that so I'd come in and save him, making him think better of me."  
  
"Maybe they did, but what did you feel when you found them?"  
  
"Angry." he responded.  "Pissed off they were picking on him."  
  
"Go on."  
  
"And after I managed to get rid of the pair of them, I felt better.  I felt better knowing that despite what they'd done to him, he was going to be okay."  
  
"And how did you feel after what happened on Monday?"  
  
He looked at her, wondering where this was going.  
  
"Like a little shit.  I hated seeing how hurt... How... _Betrayed_ Hamish looked, at how you looked... At how disappointed Fiske was with me.  I hated what had happened, and I fucking _hate_ Dagur and Snotlout."  
  
"You hate them for what they did to you and Hamish."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Because..."  
  
"Because I love him."  
  
Jack paused, a tad shocked at the certainty in his admission.  Astrid eased herself back, a knowing smile now on her face.  
  
"I believe you." she nodded.  "It's a mess, a real big one."  
  
"I make a mess of everything." he lamented, letting his head swing down so that he could get a good, long look at his sneakers.  
  
"So what are you going to do?"  
  
He looked apoplectic.  "What can I do? I've fucked things up with him; he doesn't want to talk to me... He's been out of school nearly a week now. I tried calling him, but he didn't respond."  
  
"Did you go to his house?"  
  
Jack shook his head.  "I thought about it, but I didn't want to add a charge of stalking onto things."  
  
"Maybe you should go see him." she suggested.  
  
"I probably can't do much more damage at his point." he remarked sadly.  He then gave her a look expressing his curiosity.  "Why are you trying to help me?"  
  
"Because as I once said to Hamish, he was the happiest I'd ever seen him when he was dating you... And I want to see him that happy again." she explained. "I have no idea if what you broke... Unintentionally... Can be fixed, but if you really do love him, then you'll give it a shot.  You've already done something incredibly stupid, you might as well try something crazy."  
  
"Something crazy." he smirked despite how he felt.

* * *

  
He couldn't believe he was doing this, but he acknowledged that desperate times called for desperate measures.  Jack hesitated only a moment before pushing the button for the bell, and he then waited for what felt to him an excruciatingly long span of time.  
  
The door opened to reveal Stoick, a scowl of anger appearing on the Chief of Police's face.  
  
"Leave now, Jack." he directed coldly.  
  
"Chief Haddock, please wait!" the white-haired teenager held up both hands as he pleaded.  "What I did to Hamish was stupid, selfish and I deserve your anger." he paused, nervously running a hand through his hair.  "I'm sorry for how I treated your son, he deserved better than that.  If he never wants to see me again, then I'm prepared for that... I'd just like to apologise to him... If I can."  
  
The bearded man scrutinised the rakish teenager on his porch, to Jack it felt like the elder Haddock was surveying his soul.  
  
"I'll see if he's prepared to come down from his room.  Stay here."  
  
The door clicked closed as Stoick walked away, and Jack shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans to stop them fidgeting as he waited.

* * *

  
Stoick's hand hovered inches from the door to Hamish's room before he gave it a knock.  After a few moments of waiting without an answer, he slowly opened the door and peeked inside.  Hamish was sat at his desk by his computer, a set of headphones on his head.  
  
"Hamish?  Son?" the freckled boy didn't respond, the only movement came from Toothless as the black cat perked his head up at the sound of the older man's voice.  
  
The elder Haddock sighed in frustration.  "You might have better luck convincing me you hadn't heard anything if your headphones were actually plugged in."  
The auburn-haired boy's shoulders slumped and he looked down to see the headphone jack dangling towards the floorboards.  With more animation than was necessary he slid the item off of his head and dumped it on the desk beside the computer.  "There's somebody at the door who'd like to speak to you."  
  
"I don't want to see him."  
  
Stoick nodded sadly, wishing that he hadn't heard the tone in his son's voice.  "I'll be starting dinner in a little bit, we could eat together or I can bring yours up if you'd prefer."  
  
"I'll let you know, Dad."  
  
The bearded man closed the door as he made his way back towards the stairs, shaking his head at what was transpiring.

* * *

  
Jack's face had fallen as soon as the Police Chief had told him that Hamish didn't want to see him.  
  
"Thanks for trying, Chief Haddock." he nodded glumly and turned to walk away.  
  
"Jack, could you wait a minute?" Stoick stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind him.  "What happened with Hamish is something nobody should have to go through.  He's feeling hurt and betrayed, as well as disappointed in someone he trusted and was opening up to." he paused to let what he'd said sink into the teenager.  
 "Now with that said, I like to believe I'm a good judge of character... It's something I've honed after all the years I've been working for the department.  I do believe that despite what's happened, you aren't a bad kid... Just that you've had some bad influences in your life since you moved here."  
  
Jack nodded. "Dagur and Stefan."  
  
"I've been aware of those two for a while, and I've had a few conversations with Stefan's father about how his boy has been treating mine.  My gut tells me that despite what influence they've had on you, you're a good lad, and I believe you when you say you're sorry for what happened to Hamish."  
  
"What does your gut tell you when I say... I love him?"  
  
Stoick paused as Jack's admission sank in.  "It tells me you're telling the truth." Stoick approached the teenager with a sympathetic face.  "He needs time.  At the moment he's acting only on his feelings, his anger and his hurt heart.  He's a smart boy, and when he starts acting with his head along with his heart, I hope that you two can start again... But for that he needs time, and some distance will also help."  
  
The white-haired boy chuckled sadly.  "You've got a good way with words... You ever consider running for Mayor when you retire?"  
  
Stoick scowled at the idea.  "I'd rather not go into politics if it's all the same.  Too much drama, if you can believe it."  
  
Jack was smiling now, it wasn't at full strength, but it was getting there.  "Thanks for the talk, Chief Haddock."  
  
" _Mr_. Haddock." the bearded man corrected.  "You'd better get going, I imagine your guardian's probably worried about where you've gotten too."  
  
"Yeah." the tall boy nodded, a moment later a look of sad resolution materialised on his face.  "I should tell him what happened."  
  
Stoick watched as Jack walked away and climbed into his car.  Turning to head back into the house, he looked up to see Hamish stood at his bedroom window, watching as the red vehicle slipped away.


	12. The moments where we fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of those story warnings will now be coming into play later into this chapter.

The sound of humming led Jack to Nick's makeshift workshop in the garage joined to their house.  He was hunched over his desk painting an intricate design on a wooden toy when the teenager appeared at the door.  
  
"Jack!" he greeted, his eyes dancing with warmth.  
  
"Hey, Nick."  
  
"I have toy prototype I'd like to show you." he smiled, before setting the item down and switching off the magnifying lamp he'd been using.  "But first, how was school?"  
  
"It's... Complicated.  Can we go inside?"  
  
"Sure, sure." Nick nodded as they re-entered the main structure of the house and sat down at the breakfast nook.  "Tell me what is on mind."  
  
Over the course of the next twenty minutes, Jack told his guardian everything: Dagur and Stefan, and the influence they'd had on him, the dare, Hamish, the dates they'd been on; Jack's struggle and acceptance of his sexuality, realising his feelings for Hamish, the falling out following the revelation the previous week and his conversation with Stoick from earlier that evening.  
  
During the length of Jack's confession, Nicholas had remained silent; his only responses were a selection of subtle facial expressions and an appropriate nod here and there. Once the white-haired boy had finished talking, he looked to his guardian for a response.  
  
"Oh Jack..." Nick sighed, sadness in his eyes. "I wish you'd told me sooner, I could've helped."  
  
"I know." he watched as his guardian rose to his feet and opened the door that led out into the back yard for the kitchen, letting in a cool breeze from outside.  
  
"I had hoped that coming here would help us both.  That it would be like Spring: a new beginning.  I fear I am wrong.  There are too many bad holds on you here."  
  
Jack shot to his feet.  "But there are good ones here!  Astrid, Fiske... there's Hamish."  
  
Nick glanced back at him.  "And you broke his trust, and also maybe his heart."  
  
"I know..."  
  
The white bearded man allowed a silence to descend between them as he considered what to do.  "We should at least wait and see when he returns to school, after that... We'll need to talk."  
  
Jack nodded glumly.

* * *

  
The question of when Hamish would make his return was answered at the start of classes on Tuesday.  He looked worn down and sullen, a ghost of his former self.  When he'd first arrived he'd been met by Fiske and Astrid, the latter of whom had given him a strong hug.  Jack had watched from a distance, wanting to be there but knowing that if there was any hope for the two of them, he'd have to let the freckled teenager be the one to make the first move.  
  
In Geography, Jack had deliberately arrived after the auburn-haired boy so that he could pick the desk furthest away from Hamish.  
  
The ivory-haired boy had tried to pour his concentration into his classwork, but he'd found himself stealing glances towards his former friend and lover during the two-hour class.  When the bell for recess rang, the freckled boy was the first out and instantly lost amongst the crowd of students in the hall.  
  
A break came with the single period of Science between recess and lunch, and Jack was able to preoccupy himself with learning about the Periodic Table.  The Science lesson had ended more quickly than he'd liked, and he was once again in that familiar, uncomfortable environment where his relationship with Hamish had imploded.

* * *

  
Hamish was relieved that he'd only had one lesson with Jack, and that the taller teenager had chosen to sit as far away as he could from him.  Despite his relief, he was in no mood to talk to the snow-haired jerk any time soon, and he tried to force out the thoughts of Overland in favour of grabbing his books for his next class after lunch.  
  
Sadly, somebody behind him had something else in mind.  He emitted a muffled yelp as one hand was clamped across his mouth and the other strong-armed him in the direction of the gym, pushing him forcefully.  Hamish flinched as he was banged against the door to the boys' Locker Room and was thrown to the cold tiles, his backpack dropping to the floor like a heavy sack of potatoes.  
  
On all fours, he looked over his shoulder to see Dagur standing over him, a broad and unsettling grin plastered across his face.  
  
"No Astrid, no Fishlegs, no Jack." the red-haired bully tutted.  "Not very clever, letting yourself get caught alone."  
  
"You already got him to humiliate me, what more do you want?"  
  
"I want to teach you a lesson." he took a step forward and knelt down to get a closer look at his prey.  "You've been strutting around here like some fucking peacock ever since you announced you were a fairy, and somebody needs to fix that."  
  
Hamish shook his head in disbelief.  
  
"What?" he asked incredulously.  "It's not something that can be fixed... It's innate, it's determined before you're born!"  
  
"No!" the bully bellowed, startling the auburn-haired teenager. "No it fucking isn't!  It's a goddamn choice.  You chose to be a homo and I'm going to fuck some sense into you."  
  
Hamish gaped.  "You're absolutely crazy." the instant he saw Dagur starting to unbuckle his belt he began to back up and shouted for help.

* * *

  
Jack had planned to hang back from going to the cafeteria straight away so that he could give Hamish more space and let him have his lunch in peace.  In the distance he spotted Astrid and Fiske turn and see him, before quickly approaching him with urgency.  
  
"Have you seen Hamish?" Astrid enquired, concern in her voice.  
  
"Not since Geography, why?"  
  
"He was supposed to meet us for lunch, but he hasn't shown up." Fiske interjected.  
  
"He's probably just finishing things up at his locker..." Jack trailed off as he noticed Stefan walking towards the cafeteria.  "Hey, Snotlout!"  
  
Stefan stiffened and spun, anger on his face.  The anger melted into surprise as Jack, followed by Astrid and Fiske cornered him.  
  
"Where's Dagur?  You two are always thick as thieves." she demanded, an edge of menace in her voice.  
  
"Who cares?  He isn't the boss of me."  
  
It was Jack's time to confront the bully.  "I've know you two nearly three months and I've never seen you guys apart, where is he?  What's he done to Hamish?!"  
  
Stefan was starting to look uncomfortable under their combined presence.  His attitude diminished as he finally caved.  "He said he had to do something and then he'd meet me for lunch.  I swear he didn't tell me what it was."  
  
"Why should we believe you?" the blond girl arched an eyebrow.  
  
The chestnut-haired boy was starting to look desperate.  "Because he fucking terrifies me, okay?  He used to be alright years ago, but ever since he started going after Hiccup he's been obsessed with him!  That's all I know, I swear!"  
  
"Where could he be?" the blond boy asked, his face written with worry.  
  
"Where you broke up that earlier fight with Hamish and Dagur." Astrid deduced, looking straight at Jack.

* * *

  
Muffled noises greeted them as they raced to the locker rooms at the Gym.  Finding the door locked, Jack began to kick at it.  Although it shook in the frame, it didn't budge any further.  
  
"We need to barge it." Fiske instructed, before he and Jack took several steps back and hit it with their shoulders.  Their combined mass caused the door to shake and something in the handle to crack.  
  
"Again!" Astrid shouted, and the two boys hit it a second time, causing it to open a few inches as the lock started to fail. "AGAIN!"  
  
They hit the door a third and final time, breaking it open.  Jack tumbled into the room, whilst Fiske kept his balance by grabbing onto the splintered frame.  As Astrid entered behind him, the snowy-haired teen rose to a crouch and witnessed the horrible scene unfolding in front of them.  Dagur hovered over Hamish in only his T-shirt and his underwear, his jeans discarded on one of the benches.  Huddled on the floor was Hamish, one of the bully's hands planted across his mouth and stripped of his shirt.  The item of clothing appeared to be tied around his wrists, binding his arms behind him. He looked imploringly at them whilst the bully, seemingly ignorant of the new arrivals, leaned towards his intended victim.  
  
"Get a teacher!" the blond girl cried as a sick realisation overwhelmed Jack.  
  
_He's going to rape him..._ he gaped, his mind reeling as he looked around.  His eyes suddenly landed on a wooden broom in one corner of the room.  Without thinking he grabbed the item and ran to aid his friend, with Astrid following close behind.  
  
Just as Dagur made a move towards the freckled boy's belt, Jack slammed the head of the broom against the tormentor's ribcage.  He tugged the stunned Dagur off of Hamish and threw him to the floor.  As he took care of the ponytailed bully, Astrid knelt down and quickly unbound Hamish's wrists.  
  
"Fuck you." Dagur wheezed.  
  
"Go to Hell you deranged bastard." Jack snarled.  A moment later the bully had pounced from where he was lying and tackled the taller teenager to the floor.  For a split-second Jack was aware of a sudden pain at the back of his head, and then the lights went out.


	13. Licking one's wounds

Darkness.  That's the first thing he recalled when he'd finally awoken.  A pitch black night that'd stretched on forever.  As Jack's faculties returned to him he realised he was lying down, and he tried to sit up.  
The attempt was met with a strong and sudden surge of pain in the side of his abdomen, which echoed up to his spine; producing a dull throb in his head that pulsed in synch to his heartbeat.  Hit by a sudden wave of nausea and dizziness, the teenager gingerly lay back down, sighing in annoyance at the state he'd found himself in.  
  
The combination of the pain and his swimming head had robbed him of the chance to try study the strange room he found himself in, all he could determine from the lack of light was that he was on a bed that was surrounded by some large pieces of furniture, and there appeared to be a window on the wall to his right, obscured by thick curtains.  
  
Choosing not to move again, he lay there, trying to reassemble what he last remembered.  He recalled finding Dagur looming over Hamish, he remembered pulling the deranged pervert off of the scared teenager, and then he remembered a sudden darkness which was the precursor to his waking... Wherever he'd woken.  His watch absent and with no apparent clock in the room, he lay there and listened, seeing if he could identify where he was by the ambient sounds.  
  
Beyond what he believed to be a door was a dull murmur, which sounded like quiet voices and shoes clapping against linoleum.  Beyond that, there was nothing useful he could learn.  
  
After a while he'd tried to go back to sleep, but the soreness in his side and the still-present throb prevented him from falling into a slumber.  He was about ready to try shouting at the door, when a polite knock came from the other side.  
  
"Hello?" Jack called out and a face, highlighted by ceiling lights from what looked like a corridor outside, poked through the gap between the door and the frame.  
  
"Good to see you're awake, Mr. Overland.  Would you like me to open those curtains for you, or would you like a little more time to rest?" a soft female voice enquired.  
  
"If you don't mind, could you open them?  I've spent enough time unconscious." the friendly-sounding woman entered the room, and crossed towards the window.  
  
"You might want to close your eyes for a moment, it's bright out." Jack did as he was instructed, and a warm light began to glow behind his lids.  Cautiously he lifted them to see, and he was greeted by the sight of a nurse in her forties with salt-and-pepper hair tied into a bun.  "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Sore, and a little groggy.  Where am I?"  
  
"You're at Berk Medical Centre; you were brought in yesterday evening."  
  
_Yesterday evening?!_ he gaped.  "Does Nicholas Severnaya... Does my guardian know I'm here?"  
  
"Mr. Severnaya was informed as soon as you were brought in, and he spent most of the evening here until the end of visiting hours." she explained as she crossed back to the door.  "The Doctor who treated you last night should be with you shortly.  If you need any assistance with anything, please use the call button beside your bed."  
  
Jack glanced down at the handset that lay on the bedside table to his left.  When he'd looked up again, the nurse had vanished from his room.  
  
As she had predicted, after a brief lull of time a man in his sixties, wearing a white coat poked his head in, a beaming smile on his face at seeing Jack awake and alert.  
  
"Good morning Jack." he greeted amiably. "I'm Doctor Michaels; I was the attending physician when you were brought in last night.  You gave us all a nasty scare when we first saw you."  
  
"How bad is it?"  
  
The Doctor scanned Jack's chart, just to double-check. "You sustained three bruised ribs on your right side, as well as a knock to your head that looked a lot worse than it actually was due to a cut you'd received to your hairline.  We've given you some stitches for the cut and performed an X-Ray to make sure there wasn't anything more serious." he explained as he shone a flashlight into each of Jack's eyes, gauging the pupil response.  
   
"Yikes." the white-haired boy remarked, digesting the information.  
  
"I want to keep you in until early afternoon just to make sure there wasn't anything we might have missed, but I'm confident that if nothing crops up, you should get the all-clear and be able to go home later today."  
  
"Thanks, Doc." the teenager nodded.  
  
"You're very welcome." Doctor Michaels smiled.  "I'll be on my rounds for a bit, but I'll pop in later to see how you're doing.  In the meantime, you have a visitor."  
  
Jack looked up as much as he dared, not wanting to set off the throbbing again.  As Doctor Michaels left the room, Nicholas entered, quickly crossing it to greet Jack.  The older man’s face was a portrait of relief.  
  
"My boy, are you alright?"  
  
The teenager managed a slight chuckle.  "I've been better, but I'll live."  
  
"I know some of what happened, but I want you to tell me in your own words."  
  
_We're going to do this now?_ he looked away briefly, thinking where best to begin.  
"After he'd been gone for nearly a week, Hamish finally came back to school tod-" he paused to correct himself.  " _Yesterday_.  At lunch his friends Astrid and Fiske told me he hadn't turned up to meet them, and after we'd asked Stefan-"  
  
"One of this boy Dagur's friends?"  
  
"Yeah..." Jack nodded.  "After speaking to him, we went looking for Hamish and found him trapped in one of the locker rooms with Dagur.  When we finally got the door open, we found Dagur trying to... trying to... Hurt him."  
  
"It's okay Jack, I believe I know what you mean." Nick placed a hand on the white-haired boy's shoulder.  
  
"When I realised what I was seeing, I just got so angry.  He'd done so much to make Hamish's life miserable, and that wasn't enough for that bastard.  I hit him... Nick, I really hit him.  I managed to pull him off Hamish, and I think he hit me or something... I can't really remember anything after that."  
  
"That matches what I'd heard." the guardian nodded.  "I know we've both had a difficult time of recent, but I want you to know, I couldn't be more proud.  You helped someone who was in need." he chuckled a little.  "Maybe you're a guardian too?"  
  
Jack managed a lop-sided smile.  "Maybe."  
  
"Balakirev!  I nearly forgot, I am not only visitor you have today." the bearded man crossed back toward the door and held it open, after speaking for a moment with someone who was stood in the hall outside, a freckled visitor stepped inside.  
  
"Hey." Hamish greeted, with a casual wave.  
  
"Hey..." Jack breathed, his surprise evident.  
  
"There are things I need to attend to, so you can come home later.  I leave you two to talk." Nicholas explained with a knowing wink before he left the room, closing the door behind him.  
  
The two teenagers remained in a laboured silence for a few moments, before Hamish finally spoke.  
  
"So that's Nick." the auburn-haired boy remarked.  "Leaves quite the impression."  
  
"He can be a bit larger than life." the brown-eyed boy admitted.  "He's got a big heart though, and it's always in the right place."  
  
"Yeah." Hamish nodded, taking a few steps closer to the bed.  "How are you feeling?"  
  
"They say I've got a few bruised ribs and had a knock to the head... But it looked worse than it was." he remarked, a pained look then appeared on his face as he acknowledged the elephant in the room.  "Hic... Hamish, about what happened..."  
  
"Wait, please.  Before you say anything, I... Uh... I have something I want to say." the younger teenager walked around the bed and sat in the chair nearest to it.  "When I learned about Dagur's dare, I was upset, hurt and I felt betrayed.  To deliberately mess with my feelings like that was cruel, and a jerkish thing to do..."  
  
"I know.  I'm really sorry that I did that to you." Jack nodded sadly.  
  
"However, I've had a chance to talk to Astrid, and there's obviously a lot more going on than I was first aware of.  She told me about how you were intimidated by Dagur... And given what's happened, you had good reason to be.  She also told me about how you'd admitted that you'd actually developed real feelings for me, that you'd even said you loved me."  
  
"I know it probably won't mean much, but I still do."  
  
"I believe you." the green-eyed boy nodded with a weak smile.  
  
The older teenager licked his lips nervously.  "It was the sight of you the morning after... The morning we woke up together that finally made me realise it.  Until that morning, I'd been trying to convince myself that I was straight, and that what I'd been feeling was just down to being confused from all that biological stuff with my hormones."  
  
"Being attracted to other people of the same gender can be hard to accept at first; our social environment plays a big role in that." Hamish elaborated.  
  
"Either way, I wasn't being honest with you or myself, maybe that's why what we had was doomed to fall apart." he paused, and he took in a deep inhale of breath. "I'm... I'm gay. Really, actually, gay."  
  
Hamish could almost see the wave of relief wash over the teenager.  
  
"How do you feel now?"  
  
"That I'm not lying anymore."  
  
"Good.   I'm glad to hear that." the auburn-haired teen nodded, before a thoughtful expression crossed his face.  Despite how things currently stood between the two of them, Jack couldn't help but note how handsome his companion was when he looked so serious.  
  
"What're you thinking about?"  
  
"I'm trying to decide where we go from here.  Our relationship started with a lie, and I'm not sure what we had can be salvaged." he paused as he tried to put his thoughts into words.  "However, I also can't ignore the fact that even after I'd told you to leave me alone, you still came to help me after Dagur tried to... Rape me.  I saw the look on your face and I heard the anger in your voice... And knowing that he was the one largely responsible for what happened happening... I feel more inclined to hate him." his emerald eyes widened suddenly in sudden realisation. "Here I've been talking, and I haven't even thanked you for saving me."  
  
"It was no problem."  
  
"No, seriously." Hamish interjected.  "You got him off of me and got yourself injured in the process.  Thank you, Jack." he rose from the chair to stand but hovered awkwardly.  "I'd try hug you but I'm worried I might make your bruises worse."  
  
"How about you shake my hand?" he offered his left hand out and the freckled boy shook it gratefully.  
  
"So what does this make us?  Friends?"  
  
"Maybe..." Hamish mused.  "I said our relationship, as it was, was built on a lie, and because of that it can’t be salvaged... But under the circumstances, I'm open to wiping the slate clean and giving it a fresh start with a new relationship... If you want to hang out some time?"  
  
Jack blinked, unable to fully process the development.  
  
"Are you asking me out on a date?"  
  
"No, I'm asking the other guy right in front of me." he teased.  
  
"Ow... please don't make me laugh, it hurts." Jack gasped, tears in his eyes.  Once he'd managed to settle himself down again, he cast an appreciative look Hamish's way.  "I'd like to hang out with you some time... When I'm not such a mess."  


* * *

  
Despite the arrival of lunch, both Hamish and Jack had continued to talk.  Fully embracing the fresh start the younger teenager had suggested, the taller boy had started to tell his companion about his earlier life.  As the conversation had progressed he'd admitted that one of the reasons he'd originally gravitated towards Dagur and Stefan had been because in the final months at his previous High School, Jack had become isolated from the rest of the student body.  He hadn't wanted to go through that kind of loneliness again, which had also had the unfortunate result of making him a bit too eager to grasp hold of the first apparent branch of friendship he'd encountered in Berk, little realising that the branch had some concealed thorns.  
  
Nick had eventually returned, along with Dr. Michaels to let the two teenagers know that Jack could be dispatched, and after signing him out the bearded guardian had gone on ahead to ready a few things in the car.  
  
"...I really don't need a wheelchair!" Jack protested.  
  
"Dr. Michaels said it wouldn't hurt to wheel you out to the car, it would help prevent any extra dizziness until you got home." Hamish countered.  
  
"Ugh, fine."  
  
As they exited the main entrance of the Medical Centre they were greeted by the sight of Nick in deep conversation with Stoick, whilst Astrid and Fiske stood nearby.  Upon seeing Jack, the two other teenagers cheered.  
  
"Ow... Tone it down guys; I've still got a bit of a headache."  
  
Stoick broke from his conversation with Nick and stepped forward, towering over Jack.  He then knelt down and removed his peaked Policeman's cap.  
  
"Thank you for helping my Son." he smiled.  "I'm glad to see I was right about you."  
  
"Glad to have helped.  Thanks for coming, Mr. Haddock."  
  
Before responding, Stoick rose back to his full height.  "It was the least I could do, I wanted to see for myself if you were okay." having taken a few steps backward, the Chief of Police had opened the way for Astrid and Fiske to approach.  
  
"Hey guys. Thanks for visiting."  
  
Before Fiske could utter a word, Astrid slugged a fist into Jack's left arm, causing his eyes to widen.  
  
"Ow!" he flinched. "Did I happen to say something about being in a hospital?"  
  
"That... Was for what you did to Hamish." she then leant forward and planted a kiss on his cheek.  "And that was for saving him."  
  
Hamish glanced down at Jack and the white-haired boy returned his look.  "Nope, you’re still stuck with me, freckles." he remarked playfully, gaining a laugh from the rest of the group.  
  
"You guys should come over to the burger shack when you're feeling better."  Fiske interjected. "You can use my employee discount."  
  
"How does that sound, Hic?"  
  
The auburn-haired boy nodded with a grin. "Sounds like a plan."  
  
"Standing here, Jack... I think I was wrong and you were right about Berk." Nick glanced at the others stood around him.  "There are good people here."  
  
Stoick politely coughed, drawing their attention.  "I need to be getting back to the station.  Hamish, I can give you a lift home?"  
  
"Thanks Dad, but if it's alright with Mr. Severnaya... I'd like to go with him and make sure Jack's okay."  
  
After a moment the white-bearded man let out a deep laugh.  
  
"Of course you can!" he beamed.  
  
"That's settled, then." the elder Haddock smiled broadly.  "I'll see you back at the house, Son."  
  
"See you, Dad."  
   
 The Chief of Police turned toward Nick before departing. "I’ll be in touch, Mr. Severnaya."  
  
"Thank you, Chief Haddock." the guardian shook the red-bearded man’s hand.  As Stoick departed, Hamish turned to Fiske and Astrid.  "I'll talk to you guys later."  
  
"Sure thing."  
  
"Text me." the blond girl smiled and they gave both boys a wave before walking off.  
 


	14. A matter of principal

Due to the seriousness of his injuries and of the incident, Jack had been given permission to take the rest of the week off of school to recuperate, with the hope that he would be able to return the following Monday.  
  
Over the course of the weekend the two teenagers had hung out: watching movies in Jack and Nick's living room, sat out on the back porch and sharing impromptu meals in the kitchen with the white-bearded man, whilst also killing time with Astrid and Fiske.  For the taller of the two boys it was a relief to see their familiar rapport restored, and the increase in morale undoubtedly helped with his recovery.  By Monday morning, he felt like his old self again, and the bruises were quickly fading away.  
  
Jack had been expecting a call to the Principal's Office sooner or later; however he hadn't been expecting to be called in along with Astrid, Hamish and Fiske.  The four teenagers had been sat quietly waiting for five minutes or so when the door to Principal Fisher's office opened and the tall woman with coloured hair granted exit to the taller and imposing figure of Mr. Pitchiner.  The four teenagers had a pretty good idea why they'd been summoned, and given the English teacher’s presence, having been the first teacher that Fiske had found on _that_ day, their conclusion was cemented.  Principal Anna Fisher turned her attention to the four youths.  
  
"Astrid, Hamish, Jack, Fiske... Please come into my office."  
  
The four of them stepped into the room as their Principal closed the door behind them.  Jack and Hamish took the seats closest to the desk, whist Fiske and Astrid sat down on a couch that was sat against the wall with the office door.  Principal Fisher sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk and he regarded each of them in turn before she finally spoke.  
  
"Thanks for coming to see me.  I wanted to let you know that the school board has contacted me about their decision regarding the incident last Tuesday.  
As you're all aware the school has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bullying and violence amongst students... Because of that Mr. Faustino has been indefinitely suspended." she focused her attention on Jack.  "Jack, I want to reassure you that you won't be punished for what you did.  You did what you did to prevent a sexual assault... The board has recognised that and has cleared you of any wrongdoing."  
  
"They only suspended him?" Astrid asked, her disappointment clear as a bell.  
  
Principal Fisher sighed sadly.  "I had wanted to expel Dagur from the school, but the board was reluctant because they didn't think the case for it was strong enough.  They were worried that if his family challenged the decision, there could be enough leeway to overturn the expulsion." her purple eyes spoke of her own disappointment.  "I'm sorry that they didn't take things further."  
  
"So he could come back." Hamish acknowledged sadly.  
  
"It is possible." she nodded.  "Is there anything you four might've forgotten to mention at the time that could help the case against him?" the four youngsters looked amongst themselves, they had nothing.  "I want to let you guys know I haven't given up on this matter.  I don't want someone as dangerous as him back in my school.  Had there been enough for the Police to act on, we might have been looking at a different outcome." she sympathised.

* * *

  
"Un-fucking-believable." Jack muttered, his face a thunder cloud.  
  
"Don't even think about doing anything to him." Hamish insisted.  
  
"Why shouldn't I?  He tried to rape you and he put me in the Med Centre!  He's getting away with a slap on the wrist!"  
  
"I don't want you doing anything to him because I don't want you being brought down to his level." the freckled boy pleaded, now gripping both of the taller teenager's hands. The act, and possibly the look on Hamish's face succeeded in defusing Jack's murderous look, and his expression relaxed.  
  
"I don't deserve you, you know that?"  
  
"No, you'd don't." Hamish smirked before he gave Jack a consolatory peck on the cheek.  
   
Astrid decided to cough perceptively, drawing their attention.  
  
"I'm glad to see you guys back together, don't get me wrong.  But we do need to do something about you-know-who."  
  
"Even if he stays clear of you guys, he still makes life miserable for plenty of other kids in the school." Fiske added.  "And because his attempt on you was stopped, he might try something like that again on someone else."  
  
Hamish groaned, before he nodded in reluctant agreement.  "They're right... We need to do something..." he then refocused his look on Jack. "But no hitting him!  His way is violence, we've got to beat him with what he doesn't have an abundance of... Brains." he gave them a determined smirk, which made Jack's eyebrows rise.  
  
"What have you got in mind?" Astrid asked.  
  
"I don't know... _Yet_... But Dad can't be involved.  If we have any chance of getting something the Police can work with, we can't afford to let Dagur's family claim that the Police entrapped him."

* * *

  
"This is a terrible idea." Jack remarked.  The four of them were crouched in Hamish's room, having decanted to the Haddock house after school had ended.  They'd made sure that Stoick was still out at the station before they began any further discussion concerning Dagur.  
  
"I know it's not perfect, but what other choices are there?"  
   
The snow-haired boy had to concede to the forest-eyed teenager's point.  They didn't have many other options.  
  
"Dagur's suspended until further notice, which means there's no chance of catching him on school grounds.  I think the next best thing that could work is confront him directly about it and see if he admits to what he tried to do."  
  
"You could try recording anything he says." Fiske nodded as he idly stroked Toothless's back.  
  
"I don't think anything we could record would be admissible." Hamish countered.  "We need him to confess in front of independent witnesses."  
  
Fiske appeared to be lost in thought for a few moments before his eyes widened.  
  
"Hold on guys... How easy would it be to get Dagur to Barry Cuda's?"  
  
The three other teenagers looked amongst themselves.  
  
"He might try follow me if he saw me.  He's obsessed with me enough as it is, and he might want to pay me back for getting him suspended." Hamish considered.  "What’ve you got in mind?"  
  
"We have wireless microphones for the music station at work.  If you can get Dagur to go into one of the bathrooms with you, one of us could be hidden in there with the microphone... We could then broadcast anything he says to you over the speakers."  
  
"It's still pretty risky, what if Snotlout comes along with him?"  
  
"Leave him to me." Astrid smirked.  
  
"Okay, so we're going to have to bait Dagur." Hamish nodded, before turning to Jack. "Where would he hang out whenever he wasn't in class?"

 


	15. To catch a dragon

When they were outside of school, Jack had killed time with Dagur and Stefan either in the alley behind Trader Johann’s on Main Street, behind the school building where it joined up with the Gym, and amongst the trees near the basketball court at Raven Point Park.  
  
The red-haired bully had so far been keeping his distance from the school, alternating between the park and the alley to slay his sudden abundance of free time.  From a safe distance the four teenagers, split into two groups observed their targets as they smoked, kicked crumpled soda cans about and made various remarks about some of the other students at the school.  After ten minutes of careful watching, Dagur and Stefan parted company.  With the two troublemakers safely out of sight and earshot, the four teenagers regrouped.  
  
"Okay, I think we have our plan." the freckled boy announced.  "Astrid, Fiske, as soon as you guys get out of school on Wednesday I want you to check here and the park for Dagur and Stefan."  
  
"What do we do when we find them?" Fiske enquired, and Hamish turned to him.  
  
"This is where you come in... This is a big favour I'm asking of you, if you have any reservations and think it's too risky, you don't have to take part."  
  
"What is it?" the blond boy prodded.  
  
"Once you've found those two, I'd like Astrid to call your phone... It'd have to be somewhere within hearing for them so they can hear it go off, and hear your side of the conversation.  You're going to 'accidentally'-" he made quote marks with his fingers. "-tell Dagur and Stefan that I'll be at the burger shack that evening, meeting up with Jack."  
  
Fiske contemplated the plan before he nodded, a determined look in his eyes. "I'm in."  
  
"They’ll probably confront you; try getting more information out of you." Hamish placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.  
  
"It'll be believable if they catch me and get me to 'talk'.  I want to do this."  
  
A grateful smile spread across Hamish’s face.  "Thanks, bud."  
  
"I'll be there in case they try to get rough." Astrid added with a reassuring nod.  
  
"Assuming they take the bait, I'd like you-" he looked at Jack and Astrid "-to find a discrete spot near the restaurant.  Fiske, I'd like you to get there before me, grab the microphone and hide in the bathroom so that you're ready to broadcast anything Dagur says.  With you guys in position, I'll walk along Main Street and wait outside Barry Cuda’s, just to make sure they see I'm there.  Then I'll head inside, and hopefully Dagur will follow me in."  
  
"Should I tell Mr. Ferguson about our plan?" the blond boy asked, referring to his employer and the owner of the burger shack.  
  
Hamish's face shifted to thoughtful as he considered Fiske's point.  "Would he let us do it if he knew?"  
  
"I think so." Fiske replied.  "He's certain Dagur was the one who set the dumpsters on fire last summer.  I'm sure he'd love to help us."  
  
"Okay, tell him what you think would be best he knew."  
  
"I still think this is almost as bad as us actually leaving you gift wrapped at Dagur's front door."  
  
The freckled boy affectionately gripped his companion's hand.  "I know you aren't a fan of this, but we need to do something a bit drastic."  
  
"I'd have gone with crazy, but I know I'm not going to convince you otherwise." he sighed.  "So let's do something crazy."

* * *

  
By lunchtime on Wednesday, Hamish was ready to put the plan into action.  During a brief lull in the lunch crowd, he found himself alone with Jack.  
  
"You still look unconvinced." the freckled boy observed.  
  
"I've made my point; I don't want to give you any more to worry over."  
   
"I want to know what you're thinking."  
  
The taller boy frowned and looked the most reluctant that Hamish had eve r seen him.  "I'm worried about what could happen between you two.  Even if Astrid and I do manage to stop Stefan from joining him, Dagur is still enough of a threat on his own. He successfully beat me up without Snotlout's help.  I just wish there were some other way."  
  
"I know you're worried about what can happen, but it's my choice to make.  I don't want anyone else to go through what I went through."  
  
The brown-eyed boy let out a breath of frustration. "Then we'd better get the ball rolling."

* * *

  
With the final bell of the day rung, Astrid and Fiske had met up and proceeded to the first hangout spot to locate the two bullies.  Despite a thorough search, neither of the troublemakers could be found in Raven Point Park.  
  
As the two blond teenagers quickly made their way out of the park and towards the centre of town, Astrid pulled out her cell phone and began typing away.

> _**Dagur and Snotlout not at the park. Will try the alley next.** _

****

She quickly sent the message to Hamish's phone, and the two of them continued to jog.

* * *

  
"Where are they?" Fiske asked, concern in his voice. They'd gotten to the second hangout just off of Main Street, only to find that it was as empty as the first.  
  
Astrid shared a concerned look with him, but didn't speak. Instead she relayed the information back to Hamish's phone.

* * *

  
"They weren't at either spot?"  
  
Hamish shook his head. "Is there anywhere else you guys hung out?"  
  
"Aside from hanging out the back of the Gym, there weren't any other spots I was aware of... But there were plenty of times those two were hanging out without me."  
  
The freckled boy mulled it over before he started to nod.  "And they could easily have had another hideout, some place they might've told you about if you'd won the dare."  
  
"Maybe." Jack nodded, wishing that Hamish hadn't reminded him of the wager.  
  
The auburn-haired boy paced the floor, considering how to proceed. "Is there any possibility they could be at the school?"  
  
The taller boy shrugged.  "The school's as probable as anywhere else... Normally I'd say there's no reason why he'd go there, but this is Dagur we're talking about."  
  
"I'll get Astrid and Fiske to check." he quickly tapped a reply to the blond girl's message, and sent it to her.

* * *

  
Astrid's phone chirped and she opened the received message.  
  
"Hamish wants us to check the school, near the gym."  
  
"Why would Dagur go there?  He'd only get into more trouble because of his suspension."  
  
She looked at him with a shrug of her shoulders. "Since when has anything that he's done ever made sense?"

* * *

  
The student parking lot by the school was deserted, but there were still a few cars in the faculty lot, meaning that Astrid and Fiske would have to be careful about being caught.  
Keeping close to the edge of the building, the two teenagers followed the perimeter towards the basketball courts and football field that lay at the far end of the school property.  
  
The Gym building matched the architectural style of the rest of the school, but featured far fewer windows; what few that peppered the locker rooms and the gym itself were raised several feet above the ground, beyond normal head height, to allow for total privacy.  Attached to one side of the gym was a storage shed that provided some shelter from the wind and prying eyes.  Often it'd proven popular with those students who liked to indulge in their nicotine habits, and it also helped even less reputable students conceal a multitude of sins.  
  
Stood leaning against the storage shed were Dagur and Stefan.  
  
Astrid pulled out her phone and began to tap away.

* * *

  
Hamish's phone chimed on his desk, and he scooped it up.  Jack waited silently beside him, Toothless purring on his lap as the auburn-haired boy read the text message from Astrid out aloud.  
  
"'Dagur and Snotlout at the school, tell Jack that was good intel.'" a smile ghosted Jack's lips despite the seriousness of what was going on.  "'How should we proceed?'"  
  
"They're not going to believe that Fiske just happened to be walking around there, not this long after school finished."  
  
Hamish nodded in agreement.  "How long could they end up being there for?"  
  
Jack shrugged with uncertainty. "No idea, they could be there for hours."  
  
The freckled boy bit his lip in thought, and Jack smiled at the sight.  Hamish's eyes then widened and he spun excitedly to Jack.  
  
"If we can't bring  _Mjölnir_ to Thor, we'll bring Thor to _Mjölnir_."  
  
The white-haired boy stared at him as if he'd suddenly started speaking another language.  "What?"  
  
"Sorry!" Hamish returned, realising how cryptic it'd sounded.  "If we can't find a believable way of getting Astrid and Fiske to 'cross paths' with Dagur and Snotlout, then let's try push Snotlout and Dagur into their path instead."  
  
"It's not Astrid's path I'd like to push Dagur into right now." Jack mused, earning a disapproving look from his companion.  A moment later, Hamish was sending his friend another text message.

* * *

  
Astrid's phone buzzed in her hand, making her glad she'd set it to silent.  She opened the newest message and frowned.  
  
"What's up?"  
  
At Fiske's enquiry she held the phone up for him to read.

> **_Return to the front of the school. Pick a spot where you can observe anyone walking near the entrance but you can't be seen yourselves. If this works, you should 'bump into' them._ **

****

"I'm really not liking how this is panning out." the blond boy admitted as they both began to make their way back towards the front of the school.

* * *

  
The phone rang for a few more minutes before a female voice on the other end of the line answered: _"Berk High School, how can I help you?"_  
  
Hamish took a quick breath before he replied.  "Can you tell me who I can speak to there about two teenagers I've just seen running to the back of the school property?  They looked like they were up to no good." he spoke in a voice that sounded like an imitation of his father's.  
  
_"I can pass that information on to the relevant school administrators, thank you for letting us know."_  
  
"It was my pleasure."  
  
_"Have a good afternoon, sir."_ as soon as the call had ended, Hamish sent Astrid another text message.  
  
"You enjoyed that just a little too much." Jack observed with a grin.  The shorter teenager simply responded with a playful wink and a smile.

* * *

  
Hidden behind a parked car on the opposite side of the street to the front of the school, Astrid and Fiske watched as a member of the school staff marched Dagur and Stefan up to the front entrance.  As soon as they'd reached the front doors the staff member stopped and pointed out towards the street.  
  
"If you're caught here again the Police will be called."  
  
"Now." Astrid whispered and the blond boy nodded.  He rose to full height and began to walk so that he would pass in front of the school.  She shifted her eyes from Fiske to the bullies as they approached the street, and as soon as they were at a distance she felt was good enough, she made her phone dial Fiske's.  
  
Several yards in front of her, Fiske's phone rang and he went to answer it.  As soon as he'd picked up, she ended the call and waited.  
  
"Hey Hamish.  No.  Yeah... You want to go there tonight?" she strained to listen to Fiske's acted conversation, and she smiled.  The blond boy had proven on several occasions before now that he had more than a few hidden talents.  "Okay, I'll get you my staff discount.  I'll see you there.  Later."  
  
Astrid shifted her focus to Dagur and Stefan.  The two had stopped across the street from Fiske and it seemed like they might've heard him.  
  
"Hey!  Fishlegs!" Dagur bellowed across the street and Fiske jumped, genuinely shaken.  She watched as the two antagonists crossed the street towards the heavy-set boy.  "Who was that you were talking to?" the ponytailed boy demanded.  
  
"Erm... Nobody?"  
  
"Didn't sound like nobody." Stefan countered.  
  
"Um... It was just my boss, he wants me to come in for an earlier shift."  
  
"You'd better not be lying to me, you were talking to the Fishbone, weren't you?"  
  
"Uh... Maybe?"  
  
Astrid was fairly certain a cocky smile had spread across Dagur's face.  
  
"Look, I'll make you a deal.  If you tell me where that wimp's going to be this evening, you don't have to get hurt.  He won't even know you were the one that ratted him out."  
  
Fiske took a step back, and the two troublemakers took a step forward.  After a short while the blond boy let his shoulders slump, and he stared down at the ground beneath him.  
  
"He's m-meeting Jack at the burger shack this evening... A... Around eight!"  
  
Dagur took another step closer and placed both hands on Fiske's shoulders.  
  
"There, wasn't so hard, was it?" he gave Fiske that awful grin, before a forceful shove, sending him falling backward onto the grassy verge.  He remained there until the two bullies had walked out of sight.  Safe to come out of hiding, Astrid rushed forward.  
  
"That was amazing!" she cheered, helping him up to his feet.  
  
"The terror was real." Fiske admitted, wiping beads of sweat from his brow.  "Do you think he bought it?"  
  
"Definitely." Astrid nodded enthusiastically. "We need to tell Hamish... And later I need to convince you to try out for the school's production of _The Tempest_."  
  
"I didn't agree to that!" he protested as Astrid dragged them in the direction of the Haddock house.


	16. To slay a dragon

Jack watched as Hamish made the last preparations for their 'date'.  Clad in brown T-shirt that had been manufactured to look like it had a long-sleeved green shirt beneath it, and a pair of jeans with sneakers, Jack envied how easily the emerald-eyed boy seemed to pull off a look that appeared smart, or casual.  Despite what effort he himself could employ, the snow-haired teen would often have his intent frustrated by his often unruly head of hair.  
  
"How do I look?"  
  
"Better than okay." Jack smiled.  "I wish we were going on a real date."  
  
The taller teenager was dressed in brown jeans and his old blue hoodie, it felt strange to be wearing it again after so long.  When he'd first started hanging out with Dagur and Stefan they'd encouraged him to go for the denim look, and for a while he'd liked it, but now the sleeveless denim jacket was a reminder of them, and he'd found himself favouring other choices of clothes.  He'd even been wearing the hoodie again with increasing regularity.  
  
"Same here." Hamish agreed as he glanced at his watch.  "Half past seven, we'd better get going."  
  
Jack nodded and the two teenagers left Hamish's room and clambered down the stairs to the front door.  Out on the porch, the brown-eyed boy waited as his companion locked up.  With the task completed, he stepped in front of his companion to momentarily block his way.  
  
"Don’t do anything more stupid than you have to, okay?  That’s my job." he urged as he kissed Hamish’s forehead.  
  
"I'm sorry I'm putting you in this position." Hamish swallowed to clear his throat.  "But I'm glad you'll be there with me."  
  
"Whatever happens, I love you." the taller teenager rested his forehead against the freckled boy's.  
  
"I know.  I love you too." they then shared a quick kiss, before separating.  "I'll see you at Barry's."  
  
"See you there, Hiccup." Jack nodded with a sad smile, and he took off.  A few moments later Hamish stepped down from the porch and started his walk, he'd be following a slightly shorter route to ensure he arrived before his Jack.

* * *

  
Hamish paused before the ramp leading up to the entrance of Barry Cuda's and extracted his phone from pocket.  He pulled up Jack's number and waited as the line rang.  
  
_"Any sign of them?"_  
  
"Nothing so far.  Astrid sent me a text about three minutes ago saying she hadn't seen them at all."  
  
_"Great."_ Jack muttered.  _"I'll be there soon.  Is Fiske ready?"_  
  
"Mr. Ferguson gave him the okay to go ahead with the plan, he should be in there with the microphone."  
  
_"Alright."_ Hamish could almost hear the other boy nodding on the other end of the line.  _"Stay safe."_  
  
"And you." the freckled boy ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket.  He then turned and climbed the steps up to the entrance, his heart beginning to pound in his chest in anticipation.  
  
He'd picked a spot by the bar where Dagur could see him if he looked in through the window, but not that he was obviously sitting out in the open like bait.  As he waited he looked around at the teenagers and adults who were sat around him, enjoying the atmosphere and their company.  He didn't like the fact he was going to have a hand in spoiling their evening, but he felt the ends justified the means.  
  
After several minutes of waiting, his phone chimed.  He opened the message from Astrid:

> **_He's here, watch yourself. I'll try keep Stefan distracted._ **

****

He returned the phone to his pocket and took a deep breath, he was past the point of no return now.  He watched out of the corner of his eye as Dagur and Stefan casually entered the building as if they owned the place.  As soon as the ponytailed boy spotted the freckled teenager he began to approach, calm and not making a scene.  Hamish had heard second-hand from Fiske that after causing an incident two years back, Dagur had been permanently banned from Barry Cuda's.  Like with his hanging out at the school, he obviously didn't care in the least about getting into even more trouble.  
  
Despite his determination, Hamish felt a shiver run up his spine as the bully and his attempted rapist finally arrived at his side.  
  
"Hey Fishbone." Dagur greeted with a toothy smile that might have belonged to a shark.  "How're things between you and the snow _flake_?"  
  
"We're fine." he responded coldly.  
  
"And here I thought it was all busted up for good, guess you homos are a pretty forgiving bunch." a few of the other patrons stirred uncomfortably at overhearing Dagur's remarks.  
  
"We managed to talk things out, despite what you did."  
  
"So you two are back to fucking, are you?" that dark _something_ flashed in Dagur's eyes again, in contrast to that awful, awful smile.  
  
"I'm done talking." Hamish retorted as he walked past the two antagonists towards the Men's Room.  He pushed through the door and approached the sink.  
  
"We're not done here." Dagur barged through the door behind the freckled teenager, he then pushed Hamish chest-first against the cool tiles of the Men's Room wall, and planted a hand either side of the auburn-haired boy's head, forcing Hamish to have to look over his shoulder at the bully.  "You got your fag boyfriend to beat me up, you got me suspended.  Far as I'm concerned, you owe me."  
  
"I owe you nothing."  
  
"Actually, you do." Hamish did his best not to grimace as he felt Dagur's warm breath on the back of his neck.  "If it weren't for me, you'd still be the same little fucking queer virgin you've been since I first laid eyes on you.  I got Jack to sleep with you, so thanks to me you got laid before the end of High School." he took his hand off of the wall and began to slide his fingers up and down the left side of Hamish's ribcage.  The bully's touch caused the forest-eyed teenager's flesh to shudder.  "Aw now, don't be like that." he slid his hand down across Hamish's buttocks and then between his legs before he then gave the auburn-haired boy a squeeze.  
  
Hamish tried to push back away from the wall, but the stronger teenager forcefully shoved him back.  
  
"This is your problem, you're a fucking tease." Dagur hissed into Hamish's ear.  "You strut around thinking you're the big shot, and then when somebody shows the slightest bit of interest you play hard to get."  
  
"Get your hands off me!" Hamish shouted.  
  
"We had fun last time... Until snowflake barged in.  He isn't here now, so we won't be interrupted.  He doesn't have to know."  
  
"Fun?! You tried to rape me!"  
  
"Call it whatever you want." the bully shrugged nonchalantly.  He then leant in to plant a kiss on Hamish's neck.  
  
"Get.  Off.  Me." Hamish hissed through gritted teeth before he rammed his elbow backwards, slamming into Dagur's gut.  
  
"Shit!" the bully wheezed as he stumbled back.  He then grabbed onto Hamish by his shirt and threw him back at the wall, the sound of fabric ripping filled the air as the neckline of the T-shirt ripped.  
  
"You better hope that Jack got you nice and loose, because I'm not going to pussy around with getting you 'all comfortable'. Pucker up, Hamish, we’re going to have some quality time… ramming it up."  
  
Dagur had only just got his belt unbuckled when the door to one of the cubicles swung open and Fiske stumbled out, microphone in hand.  
  
"Leave him alone you asshole!" the blond boy bellowed, a surge of adrenaline evident in his voice.  A few seconds later the door to the Men's Room burst open, and a burly man with a blond moustache and an angry scowl approached brandishing a large metal spatula in one hand.  Following the large man was Jack, who looked as pissed off as the rest of them.  
  
"You'd better leave that boy alone now or you'll be well tenderised burger meat when I'm done with you." Mr. Ferguson barked.  For the first time in Hamish, Fiske and Jack's lives, they saw the spectre of true fear cross Dagur's face.  


* * *

  
Because of the serious nature of the incident (as had been heard by the two-dozen patrons who'd been in Barry Cuda's when the events had suddenly begun to broadcast over the burger shack's audio system), the Berk Police had been notified and had arrived quickly.  Hamish, Jack, Astrid and Fiske had been escorted into the back office by Mr. Ferguson as the Police dealt with Dagur.  
  
"You're every bit the boar-headed, stubborn young man that your father was at your age." George Ferguson remarked as he sat a glass of Fanta in front of Hamish.  "Surely there would've been an easier way to get that boy in trouble with the Police than to offer y'self up like some sacrificial sheep."  
  
The freckled teenager took an eager drink of the liquid before answering.  "There might've been, but as long as he was out anyone at school could've become his next target."  
  
Jack hovered, desperately wanting to give his companion a hug and not let go, but knowing well enough that Hamish's clothes would be needed for evidence against Dagur.  
  
"Make me this one promise, Hiccup.  Never try anything like that again." he pleaded.  
  
"And please don't ever ask me to do anything like that again, it took every bit of me to not come out sooner so I could get everything incriminating." the blond boy requested.  
  
"I won't ask you guys to do that again, I promise." he looked from Fiske, to Astrid, and then to Jack, giving each of his three friends a beaming, but shaken smile.  "Thank you.  Thanks for the help as well, Mr. Ferguson."  
  
"If it's helped to put that pubescent arsonist and would-be rapist in a jail cell, then I'm happy to have helped."  
  
The sound of the door to the office opening drew their attention, and Stoick walked in briskly, followed by one of his subordinates, a female Police Officer with short brown hair.  
  
"Are you okay son? I got here as fast as I could."  
  
"I'm okay Dad, Mr. Ferguson and the others stopped Dagur before anything could happen."  
  
The elder Haddock's face relaxed a little.  "I wish we'd had more to act on from the incident at the school, we might've been able to prevent this."  
  
"At least the little louse has shown his true colours." George interjected.  
  
"My officers tell me you'd all heard it happening over the audio system... How in Odin's name did that happen?"  
  
"Well... Um... You see Chief Haddock; I'd been doing an announcement over the system and had forgotten to turn it off when I went to the bathroom."  
  
Stoick looked at Fiske with a raised eyebrow, before turning to look at the other teenagers and the business owner.  He then turned to his colleague who gave him a slight shrug.  
  
"Stranger things have happened." she offered with some amusement in her voice.  
  
"Very well." Stoick nodded.  "My officers will need to speak with each of you just to get a better idea about what happened." he then focussed his attention on his son.  "I'll grab a change of clothes from the house and have it waiting for you at the station."  
  
With the instruction given, he left the room to the collective relief of the gathered crowd.


	17. A dragon's trial

Due to the severity of the crime, the case against Dagur was referred to the United States District Court located north of Berk, in Providence. The evidence of the bully's attempted rape of Hamish at Barry Cuda's, coupled with the incident reports from the first attempt at the school had presented a strong case.  
  
The lawyer hired by Dagur's family had kept a brave face despite the evidence against his client, and he'd done his best to ensure that the bully received proper due process, but when the deranged teenager had collapsed under cross-examination and protested that Hamish had been leading him on, he didn't have any ground left to stand on.  
  
The judge had only been in recess for ten minutes before she'd returned to give her verdict: sentencing Dagur to five years’ probation in the Rhode Island Juvenile Correctional system, as well as mandatory psychology evaluation to determine what future, if any, he might have.  
  
A mid-October wind rustled the leaves surrounding the District Court on Exchange Street as the collected witnesses for the prosecution and trial observers stepped out of the building.  
  
"He should've got more than five years." Stoick muttered as the group, consisting of himself, Hamish, Jack, Astrid, Fiske and Nicholas gathered beside one of the two statues sat in prominence in front of the courthouse.  
  
"I'm just glad he's gone for now.  He might be out in five years, but with the psych studies, they might decide to keep him indefinitely." Hamish noted.  
  
Astrid shook her head, going back over the developments in the court room.  "I knew he was sick... But that was... Unreal."  
  
"The sad thing about all this is he probably was genuinely attracted to me." the green-eyed teen remarked, making the group turn to him.  
  
"You don't feel sorry for him, do you?" Fiske asked incredulously.  
  
"No." he affirmed.  "But a lot of recent examples in the media have shown that some of the most virulently homophobic people, including those who've campaigned against the LGBT community are those who were secretly in the closet.  Their lives became so poisoned and they became so full of self-revulsion that they turned into monsters who terrorise people just like them." he glanced amongst them as he elaborated.  "I don't feel sorry for Dagur because of what he did to me, I just wonder what could've happened to him earlier in his life, and how different things could've been if he'd had more support."  
  
Jack felt the compulsion to lace the fingers of his hand with those on Hamish's.  The freckled boy glanced down for a moment, before looking back up at the ice-haired boy's face.  The shorter teenager's mouth spread into a smile.  
  
"Can we not talk about him any more for a while?  It's been a long day and I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving."  Jack gladly changed the subject.  
  
"There's a pizza place not too far from here, how does that sound?" Stoick suggested, much to their enthusiasm.  
  
"It'll be our treat." Nick added.  Looking forward to having something to take their minds off of the past several days, the group walked away from the District Court.

* * *

  
A few days had passed since the final court hearing, and life in Berk was starting to return to something resembling normal.  
  
The High School had been abuzz with talk over Dagur's arrest, and a new, more positive atmosphere had flowed through the building with the departure of the town's main delinquent.  Stefan, who'd been efficiently removed from the bathroom door at Barry Cuda's before the Police had arrived; had been given sufficient a scare to consider his current choices in life.  For the first time in a good while, he'd started to listen to what his father, Sven Jorgenson, was trying to tell him.  
He made sure to avoid Astrid and Jack if he ever saw them, but it seemed clear that his cohort's arrest had put a scare into him.  
  
Jack and Hamish had settled back into the routine of building a relationship, and it was the Haddock household that the white-haired boy was now driving to, following a request sent by text message asking him to meet the subject of his affection at his home.  
  
Jack brought the red sedan to a stop on the curb outside of Hamish's house and stopped the engine.  He briskly walked up to the front door and had waited only a few moments after pressing the bell before the door opened to reveal Stoick.  The Police Chief greeted the tall teenager with a cheeful smile.  
  
"Hey Mr. Haddock.  Hamish said he wanted to meet me here for something."  
  
"He's up in his room." Stoick nodded towards the stairs as he opened the door further.  "Head on up."  
  
"Thanks". the white-haired boy smiled and approached the stairs, pausing only briefly to sweep his hand along Toothless's back, the cat arching into the welcome contact of the teenager's hand.  Climbing the stairs to the second story of the house, Jack found the door to Hamish's room was closed and a sheet of paper was taped to it.  The sheet read:

****

> **Please knock**.

His curiosity piqued, he rapped his knuckles against the woodwork and waited.  
  
"Come in!" the younger boy's words were muffled by the door, but unmistakeable. Jack grasped the handled and pushed it open into Hamish's room, stepping into near darkness.  
  
"Hiccup?"  
  
"Please close it behind you."  
  
Jack did as he was instructed and he stepped further into the darkness.  
  
"Hic... What's going on?"  
  
"Just one second..." the voice requested, and Jack could hear the sounds of somebody moving near the far side of the room.  The space was quickly awash with coloured light as multiple strands of multi-coloured fairy lights flared to life.  Jack looked around, taking in the sight of the room under the different coloured glows.  
  
Meanwhile, Hamish had stepped over to his computer and jiggled the mouse, waking the machine up from its state of dormancy.  He then brought up what appeared to be a media player on his machine and pressed the PLAY button.  
  
A moment later, stirring strings with a piano accompaniment began to filter out of the computer speakers.  Jack froze for a moment as the music stirred his memory.  
  
"Wait... I know this song." he glanced at the lights again as recognition dawned on his face.  He then levelled his brown eyes back on Hamish.  "You recreated our date at the ice rink."  
  
"As best I could." the auburn-haired boy shrugged.  
  
"I would've thought you'd have wanted to forget about it, seeing as it was arranged as part of Dagur's dare."  
  
Hamish crossed the room to him.  "I'm not completely convinced that was the only reason you did it." the freckled boy let out a chuckle at the confused expression on the taller teenager's face.  "You went to a lot of trouble with the ice rink. You got the keys for it; you found those roller skates... And then there was dinner and the walk before it.  That was a lot more effort than somebody on a dare would've gone to.  I think that when you came up with the idea, a part of you had worked out by then that you had feelings for me... Probably something subconscious.  It just took a few more hours for the rest of you to catch up."  
  
As Hamish let his point sink in, he gently took Jack's left hand with his right, and he placed his free left hand on the older boy's waist.  
  
"You really think so?"  
  
"Yeah." Hamish smiled, and Jack smiled back.  As the music continued to build, they began to sway as they slowly rotated on the spot.  
  
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Jack finally spoke in a low tone: "What is this song, anyway?"  
  
"It's from a movie from the 1980s, called _Ghost_." the freckled teenager responded.  "It's actually an orchestral version of an older song called _Unchained Melody_."  
  
"Does this make it _our_ song?"  
  
"I think it can be.  There wasn’t really anything we heard at Barry Cuda's that first night that would qualify."  
  
An amused chuckle parted Jack's lips.  "Thanks for this, Hiccup."  
  
"No problem, Frosty." Hamish smirked, and the two of them shared a kiss as they continued to slow dance.


	18. Epilogue

The warm sunlight filtering through the curtains over the bedroom window roused Hamish from his slumber.  He rolled over on the mattress and stretched an arm out, only to find the space in the bed beside him empty.  Blinking away the remainder of his sleep, he fully opened his eyes and scanned the room; his boyfriend was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Pulling on his clothes from where he'd discarded them the previous night, he exited Jack's room and descended the stairs, finding the other teenager sat in the breakfast nook, staring without focus out of the kitchen window.  
  
"Hey." the freckled boy greeted, making the oak-haired boy turn suddenly.  
  
"Oh, hey." Jack returned.  "You sleep okay?"  
  
Hamish nodded.  "Yeah, though I missed waking up next to you.  Did you get any sleep?"  
  
"Enough." the auburn-haired teen sat down opposite his partner.  
  
"We can put this off if you'd like, nobody would think less of you... Not Nick, not me."  
  
Jack shook his head, but his expression showed he was grateful for his boyfriend's presence.  "I'll be okay.  I nearly forgot about it last year, this year I want to make it up to them."  
  
The emerald-eyed teenager gave his companion a half smile as he gently rubbed Jack's hands as they lay on the table.  They remained there until they heard the sound of Nicholas's alarm clock going off, and the creak of the floorboards as the guardian rose from his bed.

* * *

  
Hamish held onto the bouquets of white Roses and Lilies as Nick's car slid into the parking lot at Raven Point Park.  The sky was grey and threatened to rain, which under the circumstances hadn't seemed entirely inappropriate.  
  
It was now a full fourteen months since Jack and Nick had first arrived in town, and with so much time having elapsed even the worst of the memories of the previous year were mercifully fading.  In that time, Jack and Hamish's relationship had continued to blossom, and it was common knowledge now that they were each other's significant other.  
  
With the growth of their relationship, Jack had filled in the rest of the details about the events revolving around why he'd left Pennsylvania with his guardian, and of what had happened to his mother and sister.  
  
A year previous, Jack had been living with his mother Emily and his sister Olivia in Burgess.  His father had died several years before, leaving Emily to take on the duties of both parents.  Over time she and Nick had met and started to spend more and more time with each other, until the bearded man had become a common sight at the Overland house.  
  
Every winter in Burgess there was a fair that brought out the townsfolk, giving them the chance to have a bit of fun despite the increasing cold.  That year, Jack and Nick had gone off early to the fair, and would meet his mother and sister a little later into the evening.  
  
The winter before Jack had moved to Berk had been turning into a bad one, and in such a rural community it wasn't uncommon for the roads to ice up.  The salting operation to melt the ice was underfunded and undermanned, and some routes had to be prioritised over others.  Whilst _en route_ to the fair to meet with Jack and Nicholas, Emily's car had spun out on a patch of black ice, and skidded off into a ditch channel that ran parallel to the roadway.  
  
The injuries to Jack's mother had been bad, and by the time the accident had been reported she'd already perished.  Olivia was still alive, but in critical condition, and had been taken as quickly as possible to the nearest significant medical facility.  It was late into the evening when Jack and Nick had finally been able to see and talk to her, and although she seemed in good spirits despite what had happened, the damage had already been done.  By morning, Jack and his guardian had been notified that Olivia had drifted away during the night.  
  
The news had devastated them both, and had left them to cope with the torrent of emotions they were going through in a house full of reminders of the two people they were no longer sharing their lives with.  The Russian, feeling a combination of survivor's guilt and obligation to Emily and Olivia's memory had taken it upon himself to petition the system to become Jack's legal guardian.  
  
The teenager had eventually returned to school, but he came back to a changed status quo amongst his fellow students.  Although they weren't intentionally unkind, he couldn't help notice them whispering behind his back, and keeping their distance from him.  He'd lost three members of his family in such a relatively short period of time, and as children were want to do, there were more than a few rumours about what could happen to them if they got close to the boy in the blue hoodie with messy brown hair.  
  
Eventually, the response began to affect his grades.  
  
For the two of them, Burgess was proving too much of a reminder, and too changed following Emily and Olivia's deaths.  Nick had remarked that he felt they might benefit from a fresh start and new surroundings, and in conversation with Jack he'd proposed they relocate in order to put the bad memories behind them; and to find better opportunities for work, and friendship.  
Jack had been reluctant to leave the last members of his family behind, but on his guardian's encouragement they'd developed their new method of memorial, on the belief that as long as they remembered those they'd lost, it didn't matter if there wasn't a physical grave to stand over.  
  
The admission had given new context to what Hamish knew, and explained better why Jack had been so eager to grab any potential friendship with both hands.  The freckled teenager had forgiven his partner long ago for what had happened between them, but it helped to know why some of the things had happened.  
Hamish also felt it had helped Jack to finally open up and let somebody shoulder the burden of what had happened to his mother and sister, and the auburn-haired boy had been there for his companion when at the end of his account, his shoulders had started to shake and tears had started to roll down his face.  As Jack had observed that previous year, there was nothing to be ashamed of in crying.

* * *

  
A little time after Nick had come down for breakfast; Hamish had excused himself so he could go home and change, and had dug out a dark suit from his closet.  Showered and dressed, he'd returned to The Overland/Severnaya house to find the two main occupants going through the last preparations.  Out on the porch, Hamish had wrapped his arms around Jack in an embracing hug, and had accepted the silent invitation to attend the personal memorial service with them.  As they'd walked to the car, he'd given the oak-haired boy's hand a comforting squeeze, and it'd squeezed back in a sign of gratitude.  
  
They'd exited the vehicle and were approaching the small strip of beach that lined the edge of the park, passing the Gazebo that would provide the only bit of shelter if the clouds did decide to open on them.  
  
Hamish respectfully remained a few steps behind as Jack and Nicholas, holding the bouquets between them, began their service.  
  
"This last year has been a difficult one.  I wish you had been with us Emily; there were times I'd liked to have heard your guidance and your kindness.  Olivia, there were moments I could've done with hearing that laugh of yours, it always brightened up any room." the large man set his bouquets into the water and stepped back to watch as they began to drift away.  
  
Jack approached the water and knelt down. "Mom. Sis. I promised I'd try harder to keep you guys in my thoughts... I hope I've succeeded this time.  I've met somebody here who's helped me with dealing with what happened to you, and I hope you guys don't mind, but I told him what happened." he set the bouquets floating and rose to his full height.  "His name's Hamish... And I'd like you guys to know, wherever you are, that he's my best friend… And my boyfriend." despite the tears in the rakish teenager's eyes, there was a wide smile on his face.  
  
Nicholas and Jack stepped back from the water's edge and watched as the flowers shrank into the distance.  Beside him, Hamish looped his right arm through Jack's left, and slid his fingers between his companion’s.  The auburn-haired teen didn't need to say anything, his presence there was more than enough.  
  
  


**The End**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that the story has reached its conclusion, here's some trivia that came to be as it developed:
> 
> In wanting to flesh out the location of Berk in this version of the story, I scoured several towns on the coastline of Rhode Island to create the flavour and setting. Because this version of Berk proved to be so fun to write and describe, "Berk, Rhode Island", will be appearing again in the near future.
> 
> Although Jack's sister is usually given the name "Emma", by the fan community. In going with something a bit different, but with a tie to Rise of the Guardians, I choose to go with "Olivia Overland", inspired by Olivia Mattingly, vocal artist for both Jack's sister and Pippa. Likewise, I chose "Emily Overland" as Jack's mother was voiced by Emily Nordwind (Doesn't "Nordwind" sound like a fantastic ROTG name in it's own right?).
> 
> Up until the moment before I started uploading the story, Dagur's surname had been "Oswald", as a reference to his father in Defenders of Berk, however at the last minute I decided to switch to "Faustino", the surname of Dagur's vocal artist David Faustino, in order to retain "Oswald" for future use as Daggur's father.
> 
> In an earlier draft of the story, Berk High School's Principal was going to be one "Sanderson Mann", an obvious reference to Sandman. In the end however, I felt Tooth served as a better personality for the role, and so Principal Mann was replaced in favour of "Principal Anna Fisher", named for Tooth's vocal artist, Isla Fisher.


End file.
